St. Nikola, Gothic church in Landshut, Germany.
St. Nikola is a late-Gothic brick hall church with three naves and a single-nave choir of equal height, enclosed by the wall of a cemetery dissolved in 1913. Four round columns divide the naves; the net vault is painted ochre, the walls white. The choir flank tower has a square plan and a spire added in the 19th century.
Construction began in 1389 and the roof structure was completed in 1481 by Landshut's master carpenter Conrad Günzkofer. This long building period reflects how complex it was to construct such a large building in the medieval period.
The parish is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, whose feast day is 6 December. In the choir vault, keystones show the Madonna and Child, Saint Nicholas, and the coats of arms of Duke George the Rich, his wife Hedwig, the city of Landshut, and Seligenthal Abbey. Wall paintings from 1608 survive in the chancel from a Renaissance remodelling.
The best time to visit is during daylight hours to see the Gothic details and artworks clearly. Take time to explore the different sections and examine the floor window with the archaeological remains closely.
The archaeological window beside the display board shows the floor slabs and walls of the first church on this site, a plain hall about 12.2 m long and 9 m wide with metre-thick masonry, probably begun in the 11th or 12th century. A second phase added a choir of some four metres and a square altar base 1.8 m on a side.
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