Nikolaikirche Concerts 2025

While it feels strange to “rate” a church, I choose to do so in order to help maintain awareness of the importance of this church both as a place of worship and with its important place in music history. This is, after all, the church where Johan Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, the St. John Passion, was first performed. During his many years of tenure in charge of the liturgical music for all of Leipzig’s churches at the time, Bach would have performed, directed the choir and written music for this church on numerous occasions.

I lived about 100 meters away from the church, it was literally part of my neighborhood… an historically rich building in an historically rich neighborhood of an historically rich city… Goethe compared it (favorably) to Paris.

The church is very beautiful, the neoclassical interior with ornate columns and pastel shades is stunning. Also there is the history with Bach, and of the important part the church played in the events leading to the Berlin Wall being taken down. There is an exhibition about this, but all in German - we wished there was an English translation but there are some great pictures. Highly recommend a visit here, and please do pay the 2 euros for the photography permit as they are struggling to raise funds for the upkeep of the building 🙂

Bach relics. Very nice visit

It’s a highly historical place for the German reunification. It’s the place where protests were located and German people in the GDR gathered to stand up against the socialist regime. It’s a must see when in Leipzig! It’s free to visit but 3 Euro for pictures. It’s wonderfully renovated and colourful. Sometimes you even have the possibility to listen to concerts.