Quedlinburg - Pölkenstraße and Nikolai Church

by Thomas Bugdoll

The Nikolaikirche with its 72 m high towers characterizes the image of Quedlinburg's new town.

The Nikolai Church was built for the glory of God. Its beginnings are assumed to be around 1200. Romanesque traces can still be found in the church today. According to an old legend, a shepherd who came into wealth through a gold find was instrumental in financing the construction. For this reason, a shepherd with his dog, made in the Baroque period, still stands on one of the two sides of the tower. The vernacular calls the Nikolaikirche "Schäferkirche".

In the 14th century the Nikolai Church was rebuilt into a Gothic church. The towers had already reached their current height of 72 m and the vaults above the naves were added. The large valuable bell with its fine incised drawings in the south tower also dates from this time (1333). Almost the entire interior decoration (pulpit/high altar/ambulatory) dates from the Baroque period. Other furnishings (St. Godehard/ 2 Pietas, Mose, Romanesque crucifix) date much earlier.

In 1540, under Abbess Anna II von Stolberg, the Reformation was introduced in Quedlinburg. Since that time, St. Nicholas Church has been a Protestant church.