St. Jakobskirche (St. Jacob's Church), Nuremberg

St. Jakobskirche is a medieval church in Nuremberg, dedicated to Saint Jakob, otherwise known as Saint James the Greater.

The original church on this site was founded on 20 February 1209 by Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The small Romanesque chapel was demolished some 80 years later and a new church was built in its place. That church soon came into the possession of the Knights of St John. Under Frederick II, the knightly order enjoyed great prosperity and received many new properties.

During the Reformation, the Church of St. James became Protestant. In 1531, it came into the possession of the Catholic Teutonic Order.

In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War, King Gustav Adolf expropriated the church and handed it over to the city of Nuremberg, upon which it underwent an extensive renovation. Under the provisions of the Treaty of Westphalia, the church once again returned to the Teutonic Order – in 1648. The Order kept its hold until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings.

In 1810, St. Jakob's became the third Protestant parish church in the city. At some point, this Gothic-style edifice served as a hospice for the elderly and was badly damaged during World War II, but then restored.

Among other notable things, the temple contains the beautifully decorated late Gothic Twelve Messenger Altar with reredos dating back to 1360–1370, the Mourning of Christ sculpture by an unknown artist from the 16th century, and a three manual pipe organ by Steinmeyer Orgelbau dating from 1968.