Petrikirche, Gothic church in Innenstadt-West, Germany

Petrikirche is a three-aisled Gothic hall church of light sandstone with a nearly square plan and a short choir, begun in 1322. Its side aisles carry three triangular gables each, and a square tower with a slender green spire rises to 105 metres.

Construction of the three-bay hall church in light sandstone began in 1322; the tower was started in 1396 and its spire completed in 1523. After a collapse in 1752 the church was rebuilt in 1759 with Baroque-Classical features. Destroyed by bombing on 23 May 1943, it was rebuilt from 1954 to 1966 following the medieval form, and the spire was restored to its historic height on 17 November 1981.

The late Gothic winged altarpiece, an Antwerp retable of 1521, is known as the Golden Wonder of Westphalia. It measures 5.65 m high and 7.49 m wide; closed it shows the Adoration of the Eucharist, opened it reveals 36 detailed panels, and its feast-day side holds 30 compartments of gilded carved figures. A preservation society for the altar was founded in 2003.

The church stands in the Petrikirchhof quarter between Westenhellweg and Kampstraße, directly on the medieval Hellweg route through the city centre. The building is a listed monument together with the historic well north of the choir, so both are worth locating on the same visit. The tower reaches 105 metres, with a 48-metre spire topped by a globe and cross.

The Golden Wonder of Westphalia is a late-Gothic winged altarpiece from Antwerp, installed in 1521. Closed, it shows the Adoration of the Eucharist; opened once, 36 detailed panels appear; the feast side displays 30 compartments with gilded carved figures. It measures 5.65 m high and 7.49 m wide, and a preservation society was founded in 2003.