St. James' Church

St James’s Church stands in Hamburg’s city centre behind the busy shopping street Mönckebergstraße. It is one of the five principal churches of the city and has a tall tower that reaches 125 metres. The church began in 1255 as a small Roman Catholic chapel outside the old city walls. After the walls were extended in 1260 it became part of the city itself. Between 1350 and 1400 the chapel was rebuilt as a hall church with three naves. The church is worth visiting for its famous Arp Schnitger organ of 1693. This baroque instrument has 60 registers and about 4,000 pipes, making it the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. Three medieval altars survive inside, including the Holy Trinity Altar from around 1518. The Ministers’ Room holds ceiling murals painted in 1710 that show civic virtues important to the city. Inside the visitor finds the restored Schnitger organ in the west gallery. Thirty-four pictures by Otto Wagenfeldt and Joachim Lundt illustrate Bible stories for all to understand. The stained-glass windows by Charles Crodel depict key moments in the church year. The church also contains the tomb of the 17th-century organist Matthias Weckmann.