Nikolaiviertel
 | This articlerelies entirely on asingle source,which is cited to support onlyone minor aspectof the total article.(February 2023) |
TheNikolaiviertel(;'Nicholas Quarter') is an oldquarterof the German capital ofBerlin,foundedc. 1200.Together with nearbyCölln,they jointly make upAlt-Berlin,the reconstructed historical heart of the city. Located in theMittelocality (in thehomonymous district), it is five minutes away fromAlexanderplatz.
Geography
[edit]Situated on the eastern shore of the riverSpree,it is bounded by the streetsRathausstraße,Spandauer StraßeandMühlendamm.Theneighborhooditself is named for the eponymous deconsecratedNikolaikirche('St. Nicholas Church') at its heart. This is Berlin's oldest church and was dedicated toSaint Nicholas.
History
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The two settlements of Old Berlin as well as Cölln on the other side of the Spree originated along an old trade route, theMühlendamm('Mills Dam'), afordwhere the river could be easily crossed. TheNikolaikirche,originally a lateRomanesquebasilica,was erected about 1230. The area around the church with itsmedievalalleys in the main had been preserved throughout the centuries, until it wasdestroyed by air raidsand theBattle of BerlinduringWorld War II.
At Berlin's 750th anniversary in 1987 the house-building was restored in a peculiar mixture of reconstructed historic houses andconcrete slabPlattenbaublocks, giving the area an unmistakable appearance.[1]Today the small area is famous for its traditionalGermanrestaurants and bars.
Places of interest
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Beside Saint Nicholas' Church, the best-known building of the quarter is theEphraim-Palais,built in 1766 forVeitel-Heine Ephraim,thefinancierofKing Frederick IIofPrussia.TheRococofaçadeat the intersection ofMühlendammandPoststraßebecame famous as Berlin's "finest corner", until the house was demolished in 1936 for the laying out of the enlargedMühlendammstreet. Parts of the façade were stored in the western outskirts of Berlin,West Berlinauthorities delivered them toEast Berlin's magistrate in 1982 to support the reconstruction. The palace was rebuilt between 1983 and 1987, about 12 meters (39 ft) away from its original site. Today, it serves as amuseum.
On the other side of thePoststraßeis theKnoblauchhausfrom 1760, with aneoclassicalfaçade from the 19th century. One of the few preserved historic original buildings, it was the residence of the notableKnoblauchfamily with members like thearchitectEduard Knoblauchor the physicistKarl-Hermann Knoblauch.It is home of aBiedermeiermuseum, the oldest civic museum of Berlin.
On the banks of the Spree stands the redsandstoneKurfürstenhaus('House of thePrince-elector'), erected in 1897 at the site of an older building, whereJohn Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburgdied on December 23, 1619. As he believed aWhite Ladyhaunted theStadtschloss('City Palace'), he had fled to the home of hisvaletbefore dying there.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Palaces for the people: five communist buildings".The Guardian.2015-06-20.Retrieved2020-09-10.
Further reading
[edit]- Hatherley, Owen (2015).Landscapes of communism: A history through buildings.New York: Allen Lane.ISBN978-1620971888.
External links
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