Dorfkirche Sankt Niels

Westerland, on the island of Sylt, preserves the oldest building in the city: the Dorfkirche Sankt Niels, a Lutheran church. Built in 1634 and consecrated three years later, it is dedicated to Saint Nicholas, whom the locals call Niels. Already inside the door wait works older than the walls themselves.

A crucifix from the thirteenth or fourteenth century stands out, with a corpus from the second half of the fifteenth century. Next to it the carved gothic triptych opens with the coronation of the Virgin Mary in the centre. On the sides the bishops Nicholas or Severin and Dionysius flank the scene. The altar wings, for their part, show the figures of the apostles. The light comes from a chandelier with fourteen arms from 1682 and from a brass candlestick with eight arms, even older.

The history of the organ begins in 1875 with the instrument of the Marcussen & Søn workshop. Between 1965 and 1966 Kemper & Sohn builds a new one, incorporating the old pipes. During the 1987 renovation, the Neuthor workshop of Kiel replaces the Quinte 1 1/3 stop with a Krummhorn 8. The pipes from 1875, in fact, still speak inside the more recent organ.