Kath. Pfarrkirche hl. Nikolaus, Catholic church in Raabs an der Thaya, Austria.
The Catholic Parish Church of Saint Nicholas stands slightly elevated on the meadow northwest of Speisendorf, in the municipality of Raabs an der Thaya. The nave is Romanesque in core and was later baroqued, with a Gothic choir from around 1400 and a south tower; the church was extended westward in 1740. It belongs to the Waidhofen an der Thaya deanery of the Diocese of St. Pölten.
Speisendorf was a parish by the 13th century, and the church was consecrated in 1335; the site began as a pilgrimage destination. In 1630 it became a branch of the Obergrünbach parish and in 1784 regained parish status. The Gothic choir dates from around 1400, the nave was rebuilt in the late 15th century, and the church was renovated in 1718/1719 and extended westward in 1740.
The church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra and was once a pilgrimage site. Inside, the neo-baroque high altar has a marbled columned aedicula with a central figure of Mary and Child flanked by Saints Nicholas and Ulrich, made around 1900. A medieval grave slab carved with a staff cross now serves as a door threshold.
The church stands slightly elevated in the meadowland northwest of Speisendorf, in the municipality of Raabs an der Thaya. Visitors approach on foot through the village; the south tower marks the building from a distance. The surrounding former cemetery ground lies around the church.
A medieval grave slab carved with a staff cross now serves as the threshold step of a door, so visitors walk over it on entering. The church also keeps a bell cast by Johann Gottlieb Jenichen in 1845.
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