Saint Nicholas church, Church building in Kdyně, Czech Republic

Saint Nicholas church is a building combining Gothic and Baroque architectural styles, with a prominent tower rising above the main structure. The interior contains spaces for worship and gatherings, featuring decorative details and furnishings from different periods.

The church is first mentioned in the second half of the 14th century, when it already served as a parish church; the cross vaults of the presbytery, pointed windows with remnants of tracery and part of the nave walls survive from this period. The prismatic tower, reached through a pointed portal, is probably the result of late Gothic construction. In 1734 the tower was raised and given a new roof with an onion dome. Between 1763 and 1768 side chapels were added, the nave was extended and new furnishings were installed, financed by the Stadion counts, whose coat of arms remains on the facade; the church was reconsecrated in 1771 and the parish was raised to a deanery in 1806.

The church is the main church of the Kdyně parish and was already recorded as a parish church in the 14th century. Its patron saint is Nicholas, whose stone statue stands in a niche on the west facade, and the main altar holds a painting of him by I. Raab. A nearby church of Saints Peter and Paul, mentioned from the 14th to the 17th century, probably preceded it.

The main approach is along Kostelní Street, where you can park by the cemetery wall; a stepped path also leads up from Old Kdyně. The church stands on a hill above town, so the climb is on foot. It is an active parish church, so time a visit outside services.

The organ, built in 1763 by the Gartner family workshop in Tachov, was repaired in 1840, 1860, 1881 and 1927, then restored and returned to use in 2022. Near the church once stood the church of Saints Peter and Paul, mentioned from the 14th to the 17th century.