St. Nikolai Memorial

St. Nikolai was one of Hamburg's five main Lutheran churches. From 1846 it was rebuilt to a Gothic Revival design by the English architect George Gilbert Scott, and when its spire was completed in 1874 it was briefly the tallest building in the world. In July 1943, during the Allied bombing campaign known as Operation Gomorrah, the church was badly damaged. The walls and tower survived, but the nave was later demolished, and the ruin was kept as a memorial. At 147 metres, the tower is still the second-tallest structure in the city after the television tower.

Today the site is Hamburg's central memorial to the victims of war and dictatorship between 1933 and 1945. A museum in the basement, about 350 square metres, tells the story of the site from its origins as a seafarers' chapel to the present ruin, with its main focus on the bombing of Hamburg in summer 1943, the causes of the Second World War and how people dealt with what happened afterwards. It is a sober and thoughtful exhibition rather than a large one.

The other draw is the glass panoramic lift, which takes about 40 seconds to rise to a viewing platform at 76 metres inside the tower. From the top you get a wide view over Hamburg, including the Speicherstadt. History panels on the platform explain what you are looking at and how the city changed. A carillon of 51 bells, installed in 1993, hangs in the tower, and five artworks stand in the grounds, which are free to walk through.

The memorial is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. A ticket covers the museum and the tower, with reduced rates for students and children. Accessibility is good: the museum is reached by lift, the panoramic lift is wheelchair accessible and there are videos in German Sign Language. Guided tours can be booked through Hamburg's museum service. Allow an hour to 90 minutes.

The ruin stands on Willy-Brandt-Straße in the old town, within walking distance of the Rathaus and the Speicherstadt, and works well as a stop on a walk between the two.