Saint Peter’s church is in the old town near the City Hall and is the oldest church in Hamburg, dating back to 1342. It’s on Mönckebergstrasse, which is the main shopping street of the city.
Being in the centre of the city you can find many shops, cafes and restaurants close by. It was a protestant cathedral at first, but today it’s an Evangelical Lutheran Church. Church visitors are greeted by four marble sculptures showing the evangelists Luke, Matthew, Mark and John.
The church has survived both world wars and the great fire of Hamburg. Most of the artworks like the lion door handles survived the fire of Hamburg in 1842. If you visit the church, make sure you take a close look at the handles, because they are the only original part of the building, they are from the 14th-century (1342 to be exact) which makes them the oldest piece of art in the city.
The tower of the church is 123 metres tall, so if you walk up the 544 steps to the top, you get a great view of the city centre of Hamburg. The City Hall or Inner Alster Lake can be seen from a bird’s-eye perspective through the porthole windows.
You can visit the church for free and take a look at the artworks inside, for example Saint Peter’s key. There are many free guided tours with different themes and the church hosts many classical music concerts and small events all year round.