The Old Town Nicolaikirche is the oldest church in the original city of Bielefeld. It is the church of the Protestant-Lutheran Old Town Nicolaikirchengemeinde. The namesake of the church is Nicholas of Myra. It is located in the district of Mitte
The parish was built in 1236 by Paderborn Bishop Bernhard by Auspfarrung from the parish Heepen. Forerunner of the today's church building was a chapel built around this time. On 1308 a document about a foundation for a church building is dated. The three-aisled hall church was probably built in the 14th century. The patron Saint Nicholas, patron saint of merchants, was first mentioned in 1317; with the election of the Patrozinium the character Bielefeld as commercial center was taken into account.
In the course of the Reformation, the first Protestant services were celebrated from 1541 onwards. In 1632, the church finally became the property of the predominantly Protestant township. The spire was destroyed in 1706 by a thunderstorm and only 1739 Baroque replaced in spherical form with attached lantern. During the Seven Years' War, the church was used by French troops as a granary. From 1847 it was renovated for two years and remained largely in the state until the Second World War. A lightning strike in 1880 called for renewed renovations.
The bells had to be delivered in 1943 for armaments, only the bells cast to commemorate the assumption of the royal dignity in Prussia by Frederick I in 1705 were spared. A strong bombing raid on September 30, 1944 destroyed the church except for the stump and the lower part of the outer walls. Rebuilding begun in 1954 was deviated from the original. With the inauguration of the 36-voice carillon in 1963, the construction was completed.
The most valuable object of the sanctuary is the Antwerp carved altar. The 4.50 m high and 6.50 m wide, decorated with 250 wood carvings retable was created according to recent findings in 1524.
Source: Wikipedia