Friday, April 15, 2011

Nikolaikirche

15 April, 2011

The Nikolaikirche is tucked in a quiet little square off the main street in downtown Berlin (Mitte).  We walked through a small passageway toward the church square, ending in this lovely gate.


It is said to be the oldest church, built in the 13th century, but of course since then it's been rebuilt at least once or twice.

The original apparently had only one tower, but when it was restored according to the original building plan, it was decided to change this to two towers, giving the church its distinctive appearance.
  

 Some very important fellow wearing a sheet. (Perhaps this is St. Nick?)

Side view of the church. I love these brick arches.

This stone plaque was so worn it was only partly legible.  Once again I'm shocked to see the bullet holes from the war... visible, touchable reminders of history.
The inside is constructed similarly to the Marienkirche, only this church seems to be just a museum now and no longer in use as a church. The bricks on the arches were painted in bright colors and I can't decide if I love this or hate it.


A bear, on a pedestal, in a gazebo.  Maybe this is the bear that is the symbol of Berlin.  Maybe that is why he needs a gazebo.  I just don't know...

The little square of quiet cobbled streets surrounding the Nikolaikirche.

Another one of these very cool old water pumps.  No, I didn't try it to see if it worked.
Photo not taken by me, but is used with permission.
Walking the little street between Nikolaikirche and the river.  Yep, that's me there in red.
Photo not taken by me, but is used with permission.
This is just a few steps beyond the above photo; in front of me would be the river Spree, and the building farthest away in this pic is on the other side of the river.

3 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a beautiful day for sightseeing, too! Who were you traveling with?

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  2. BTW, I love the redesigned blog site! Very cool. (Sorry for multiple comments.)

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  3. Hi Catherine, I'm glad you like the new look. I finally got round to figuring out how to use my own image as a background. I'll probably change it more often now that I know how.

    I was sightseeing with my German friend. It was chilly that day, but the light was good and the clouds put on a nice show for my photos.

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