St Nicholas Church, Nowa Ruda

The brick Church of St Nicholas, with two slender turrets by the chancel and a tall tower, is the largest building in central Nowa Ruda. It is about 72 metres long and has kept a unified neo-Gothic interior. Yet there are older things here too: a 13th-century font, a stone St Christopher from 1511 and one of the largest surviving organs by Schlag & Söhne.

History

The first, late Gothic church was built in 1515 as a Lutheran church; after 1623 it passed to the Catholics. In 1884 it burned down. It was rebuilt in its present neo-Gothic form in 1885–1887 to designs by Joseph Ebers and Joseph Elsner. Further renovations followed in 1968 and in 1970–1975.

What to look for

• The three-aisled hall interior, about 72 metres long and 22 metres wide, with rich brick detail: window surrounds, portals, friezes and buttresses.
• A sandstone font dated to the 13th century, a Gothic stone St Christopher of 1511 and a 15th-century wooden Madonna – survivors from the old church.
• Statues of the apostles on the nave piers, by Franz Wagner, Alois Schmidt and Joseph Elsner, made between 1890 and 1914.
• The organ, built in 1890 by Schlag & Söhne of Świdnica as opus 310 – one of the firm's largest surviving mechanical instruments.
• Tombstones from the former churchyard, set into the wall on Kościelna Street, the oldest from 1589.

Did you know?

In September 1890 three bronze bells were hung in the tower. During the First World War they were replaced by four cast-steel bells made in Bochum in 1918, which still hang there today.

Tripto tip

The church is in the centre, a few minutes' walk from the market square. The interior is easiest to see before or after a service; 20–30 minutes is enough. The towers are best photographed from the higher streets or from St Anne's Hill, which looks out over the whole town. While in Nowa Ruda, consider a trip down the Tourist Coal Mine.