St Nicholas Church in Chełmża

St Nicholas Church at 9 Kopernika Street, south-west of the market square, is the former parish church of Chełmża and the town's second Gothic church after the co-cathedral. The parish is recorded as early as 1248, and the brick church was built from around 1264 to the early 14th century. Its tall tower, with a hipped roof topped by a lantern and spire, is easy to spot from across Lake Chełmża.

History: parish church, Protestant church and chapel of ease

The parish of St Nicholas is older than the town itself, which received its charter in 1251. The cathedral's foundation charter of 1248 placed the church under the cathedral, and in 1264 Bishop Friedrich von Hausen of Chełmno endowed the parish with 12 lans of land. The present three-aisled church with a rectangular chancel and a west tower was built in three phases. In 1422, during the Golub War, it burned in a Polish-Lithuanian raid and the nave vaults collapsed. In 1824 the King of Prussia bought the church and on 24 August 1827 handed it to the Protestant congregation, which raised the tower in 1848–1858 and later added a Gothic Revival transept. After 1945 the church returned to the Catholics: it served as a school church, in 1950–1953 it stood in as the parish church while the fire-damaged co-cathedral was rebuilt, and today it is a chapel of ease of St Nicholas parish.

What to see

• The chancel with an early 14th-century rib vault, and walls of brick laid in Wendish bond, with fieldstone in the lower courses.
• The Mannerist high altar of 1612 showing the Virgin between Saints Barbara and Catherine and an Adoration of the Magi, kept by the Protestants.
• Four 18th-century altars moved here from the cathedral after the war, including one with a painting of St Barbara in a chased Rococo cover.
• A medieval granite holy-water stoup, tomb slabs from 1696 and 1718, and an organ of 1905 by the Terletzki – Wittek firm from Elbląg.

Did you know

A chapel of St Lawrence, later of St Hubert, once stood by the church and kept the "miraculous key of St Hubert", famed for healing the sick. It was demolished when the Protestants took over the church. According to local guides, the first church may have been built on a former pagan cult site. Luca Giordano's "Adoration of the Magi", a gift from the King of Prussia to the local Protestants, originally hung in St Nicholas and is now in the co-cathedral.

Tripto tips

• Before you go, check with St Nicholas parish when the church is open. The town also holds occasional guided visits combined with Mass, and 20–30 minutes is enough for the interior.
• Combine your visit with the Holy Trinity Co-Cathedral and a walk along the shore of Lake Chełmża, from where you can see the silhouette of the St Nicholas tower.