St Nicholas Church
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Transcript
Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed the classical core of St Nicholas Church, while the great dome was completed later. It became part of the carefully composed skyline around the Alter Markt.
In April 1945, bombing and artillery badly damaged this area. The church’s restoration reminds us that Potsdam’s harmonious historic centre is partly the result of postwar reconstruction rather than uninterrupted survival. Look across the square and you can see several different philosophies of rebuilding side by side: faithful restoration, modern replacement, and historical facades enclosing new uses. The apparent unity is actually a conversation among competing ideas about memory.