NIKOLAIKIRCHE (SAINT-NICOLAS CHURCH)

The Nikolaikirche is an absolute must-see on any visit to Leipzig, both for its appearance and for the history with which it is steeped. Although its dark plasterwork gives it less external sparkle than its "sister", the Thomaskirche, it is far ahead of it in the originality and beauty of its interior decoration, one of the most accomplished in Germany in the style of classicism. St. Nicholas Church is Leipzig's oldest and largest church. Built in Romanesque style in 1165 (a style still recognizable today on its western facade), it acquired its present Gothic structure in the ^15th century, a period of great Leipzigian prosperity. Today, its exterior is predominantly Gothic, with a single large tower and tall, slender windows. But its interior, despite its Gothic structure, appears to be an Aufklärung festival, an achievement of metaphorical aesthetics designed to express a highly philosophical content, that of the search for the Demiurge, of the elevation of Man towards the heavens. This unique, incredible interior, unrivalled anywhere else in Germany, was designed between 1784 and 1797 in the spirit of Enlightenment architecture; its palm columns, which join the ceiling cut into square alveoli each containing another square with a flower at its center, convey a highly symbolist aesthetic. The best thing to do is to enter, sit back and contemplate this remarkable, almost living décor, while everything stands still. In 2004, this first-rate interior was completely restored, adding green and pink colors to the lively truculence of the decor. While the pink was contested by many purists, the whiteness of the columns now lends the place even more majesty than before.

The other outstanding feature of the Nikolaikirche is its organ, which is of exceptional quality, one of the finest in Germany. It was built in 1862 byOrgelmeister Friedrich Ladegast, enlarged and perfected in 1902 by the Wilhelm Sauer company and brilliantly restored in 1988 by the same company. The organ, which played a major role in the Romantic texture of Bach's works in the ^19th century, has an unprecedented sound quality and is the venue for frequent and often free concerts. It was here, in the Nikolaikirche, that Bach first performed his St. John Passion in 1724.

Beyond its architecture, the Nikolaikirche, located in the heart of the city center, is famous for having hosted the first protests of autumn 1989. Since then, it has remained a powerful symbol of German reunification. Indeed, the famous "Leipzig Monday Demonstrations" which, from September 4, 1989 to the fall of the Wall, brought the people of Leipzig out into the streets to protest against dictatorship, drawing in their wake many other cities, from Dresden to Schwerin, under the slogan of Wir sind das Volk(We are thepeople), found their genesis in the preaching and prayers made at the Nikolaikirche. From the early 1980s onwards, the church was known for its politicized Monday sermons, with increasingly subtle demands for democracy, freedom of expression and respect for human rights. Increasingly explicit by the end of the decade, these Monday sermons turned into a demonstration on Monday September 4, quickly drawing 100,000 people into the streets. Today, the church boasts that it was the starting point for the fall of the GDR. The Friedensäule, a monument on the Nikolaikirchhof that takes its design from a column in the church, is dedicated to the participants in the peaceful Monday demonstrations, and was erected in 1999.