St. Nikolai, Greifswald

The new status of the church also brought wealth, and in the same year construction began to make the tower higher.

The first time was in 1515, when the top collapsed, apparently without causing any severe damage to the church building.

The citizens of Greifswald together with those of the neighbouring towns Stralsund and Anklam, as well as the ruler of Swedish Pomerania, Queen Christina, donated so much money and building material in a short time that reconstruction of the church could start only a month after the accident, under the leadership of masons from Stralsund.

In 1651 the vaults and roof were rebuilt, and one year later the church tower received its new, Baroque spire, modeled on that of St. Mary's in Stralsund as well as Baroque towers in the Netherlands — consisting of a lantern and cupola — which are substantially more stable than the slim, Gothic spires.

The refurnishing was carried out to the designs by the Greifswald architect Gottlieb Giese [de].

Giese had the entire interior of the church whitewashed and covered with a coating of sandstone-coloured paint.

The church was re-inaugurated on 11 June 1989 with a ceremony that was attended by the leader of the German Democratic Republic, Erich Honecker.

Not least the speech by Bishop Horst Gienke [de], conceived without consulting the leadership of the church, was critical.

The inauguration sermon, with a bold sermon made by the pastor of the church, Puttkammer and attended by Berthold Beitz in his capacity of chairman of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, which had provided funds for the renovation, was one of the last public appearances of Honecker before his fall, heralded by intense protests.

The slightly smaller middle part is flanked by four turrets with domed copper spires, and it is also decorated with blind arcades.

60 metres (200 ft) up in the tower there is a panorama platform which can be reached by a stair with 264 steps.

During the renovation in the 1980s, the church received a new altar made by limestone from Gotland as well as a new, larger-than-life crucifix, designed by Hans Kock.

One is from 1579 and commemorates the ducal chancellor Valentin von Eickstedt [de], while the other is from 1649 and erected in memory of the family of the mayor Christian Schwarz.