The St Nikolai Church was build and sanctified to the 'patron saint for seaman' the "Holy Nikolaus"

The first St. Nikolai Church was build in the 1350's but burned down a few times in its history.

Todays church (or what is left of it) begun to be build in 1846 and finished in 1863.

During World War 2 (July 28th, 1943) it (the nave) was hit by an allied bomb. The church tower stayed intact though and was partially restaurated. It stands today as a memorial for World War 2 and Hamburger as well as visitors are reminded at the destructiveness and horror of war. It really makes you think, how much different the cities who were affected by war would look like today. Makes the world much prettier without war in many aspects...

There are many statues on the churchground that deliver a peace message. I will post one of these statues in my next post.