St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church, or Nikolaikirche, is a renowned, beloved place of worship in Leipzig. Built in the twelfth century, the church is the city’s oldest and largest, with a capacity of about two thousand. Due to its location at the intersection of two important trade routes, it was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of merchants.

With each century, the church was extended and enlarged into the Gothic hall it is today. Bach premiered many of his works here when he served as music director from 1723 to 1750. Despite this tremendous cultural honor, which has echoed throughout ever since, the church was brought to singular national attention in 1989, when it became a key meeting hub for peaceful protests known as the Monday Demonstrations.

The church had been holding peace prayers every Monday night for seven years, attracting those who were politically dissatisfied but frightened or unable to voice those concerns. In 1989, authorities attempted to block off the church, which had the opposite effect. The congregation grew, gaining attention from the Western press, who were freer to publicize the protesters’ repeated cry for democracy: the reverberating phrase “We are one people.” These vigils and “prayers for peace” culminated in almost seventy thousand protesters gathering to revolt against communist rule.

St. Nicholas’s placement at the intersection of the country’s conflicting ideological routes made it the perfect place for peaceful protest. Civilians were terrified to participate but courageous enough to return for a succession of Mondays. The church still holds peace prayers for a range of issues today, having proven its value as a crucial host for those seeking to reunify Germany.

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