The village church of St. Nikolai in Altefähr on the island of Rügen is also known as St. Nikolaus zur Fähre (St. Nicholas to the Ferry) because of its location on the former ferry dock. It is located on the Strelasund directly opposite the city of Stralsund and is considered an old seafarer's church.
The church village Altefähr was demonstrably the traditional arrival point of the ferries between the mainland and the Island of Rügen since the 13th century. It was not until the construction of the Rügen Dam in 1936 that the village lost its eponymous, original significance with the extensive abandonment of the ferry port.
A church in Altefähr was first mentioned in a document in 1325 as a "chapel opposite the city of Stralsund" (capella opposite civitati Stralsund). However, no remains of this building have survived. The oldest parts of the present church date back to the 2nd half of the 15th century. The nave was soon added to the choir and immediately afterwards the tower was added. This was changed in 1692. In 1803 the upper third collapsed and in 1913 the tower got its present shape.
