One of the most famous buildings in Tallinn is the Niguliste Church, located between Harju and Rataskaevu streets. The first written mention of the church dates back to 1316. The church was built with the money of German merchants who moved to Tallinn from the island of Gotland, and it was named in honour of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of seafarers. In the past, the building was used not only as a temple and a reliable fortress, but also as a place for storing especially valuable goods. In the following centuries, the church building was repeatedly rebuilt and completed.
Niguliste Church is the only church in the Lower Town that was not damaged or ruined during the Lutheran Reformation in 1524. The parish headman filled all the church locks with lead. Thanks to this "trick", the angry mob of townspeople, who had already destroyed the churches of St Olav and St Catherine in the Dominican monastery, simply could not get into the Niguliste church. Thus, the decoration of the church was preserved. The building suffered the most damage during World War II, during a bombing raid in March 1944. However, some works of art managed to be preserved. Some of these include the carved wooden altar. It was made in 1482 by the famous Lübeck craftsman Hermen Rohde. Coats of arms, stone tombstones, a seven-candle panikladil and epitaphs were also preserved. Another surviving treasure is the preserved part of the famous painting "Dance of Death" by the famous Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. The painting depicts people of different classes, and next to them dancing figures of death enticing people to dance. The painting will help everyone to think about the frailty of existence and the inevitability of judgement.
.South of the Niguliste Church there is an old lime tree called the Kelch tree, which is considered to be the oldest tree in the city, over 300 years old. According to legend, under this tree is buried a famous chronicler, the pastor of the church, who died during the plague that ravaged the town in 1710.
Not far from the church, at the end of Rataskaevu Street, where the building rests against the city fortress wall, stands an unremarkable one-storey house. But in the past people were afraid to even walk past it. In those days, an executioner lived here. On his sword was engraved the following inscription: "The mercy and faithfulness of God is renewed every morning, by raising the sword, I help the sinner to gain eternal life". But it was not only with the help of the sword that the sinner could leave the world of the living. A gallows and a wheel were depicted on the blade of the sword, thus demonstrating other means of execution. An exact replica of this sword of justice is kept in the Town Hall, a branch of the Tallinn City Museum.
Today, Niguliste Church is a historical museum of sacred art, where an exhibition covering more than seven hundred years of medieval and post-Reformation Estonia is organised. In addition, the building has excellent acoustics, so organ concerts are often held here, as well as lectures, tours and other educational events.
