View of the main altar

In the early 19th century the Nikolai church was in need of restoration. Building work was carried out on St.. Nikolai at almost the same time as the construction of the Friedrichswerdersche church (1824–1830) by K. F. Schinkel in Berlin. Between 1823 and 1832 the local architect Johann Gottlieb Giese (1787–1838) gave the three-aisle church a new character. He transformed the Gothic interior to turn it into a romantic cathedral having a lasting religious impact on the individual in the same was as it can be regarded as being a sign of national awakening in the first half of the 19th century. The church interior conceived as a complete romantic work of art breathes a new unity which Mrs D. Schleiermachers (1768–1834) felt appealed more to religious sensation than to reason.

Baptism of Caspar David Friedrich in St Nicholas
Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Church window, choir pews and chair, dating about 1824, pencil drawing, 13x20, missing

The spiritual, cultural and historical background to this project was greatly influenced by a circle of persons in Greifswald friendly with the painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), who was christened in the Nikolai kirche on the 7th September 1774. They included inter alia the university professors J. G. Quistorp, K. Schildener and J. C. F. Finelius. As a leading cleric at St.. Nikolai, Finelius, who was himself active as an artist had made a vital contribution to the redesign. Caspar David Friedrich was no doubt influential in drawing up the plans through his brother Christian Friedrich (1779–1843), a master joiner who did all the wood carving.

	Pulpit and a new altar, drawing, 1875

Retaining the original structure of the medieval interior, and by plastering all architectural features Giese created a new interior decor by applying a coat of paint in a warm sandstone hue. This created an impressive interior unity. Fixtures such as altar, pulpit, font, organ case and pews were remade from new and were integrated to fit in with the overall concept. The crucial change to the interior was a choir with greater height and completely new design. By installing an internal polygonal choir, the pediments of which were filled with filigree tracery, Giese produced a motive reminiscent of the external facade of a cathedral, visionary architecture. The interior is defined as being part of the exterior. A luminant gold cross towers above the higher altar.

Interior view of St Nicholas church from the font to the organ" - drawing by Burkhardt, Greifswald 20.3.1833

In 1835 Schinkel found words of recognition for Giese’s redesign, which he praised as a good example compared with unsuccessful internal restorations in other churches in Western Pomerania. In the following decades the redesign by Giese resulted in a number of internal high quality neo Gothic designs as a result.

Birgit Dahlenburg

The construction work and redesign of the dome prior to 1989