The church of st. Nicholas in Chełmża

The church of st. Nicholas in Chełmża is a gothic church from the second half of the 13th century and the early 14th century. It reconstructed after 1422 and rebuilt in the 19th century, with the addition of neo-gothic elements.

The church of st. Nicholas probably already existed in the mid-11th century as a wooden building, which is proven by the fact, that it was subordinate to a cathedral in an erection act from 1248.

The current church was constructed in three stages. The construction most likely began around the year 1264 and was finished in the early 14th century. A three-nave temple was constructed with a rectangular presbytery and a western tower. The presbytery was attached to the no-longer existing chapel of st. Wawrzyniec, later the chapel of st. Hubert. In 1422, as a result of the Polish-Lithuanian invasion during the Golub war, the church was burned. At that time, the vaults in the body fell down. When the vaults were rebuilt, the windows in the main nave were walled up. In 1824, the church was purchased by the king of Prussia, and on August 24th 1827, it was passed down to the local evangelic community.

Between 1848 and 1858, the tower was lifted by one floor, while the earlier, slim helmet was devastated. In 1858, a decision was made to thoroughly reconstruct and expand the church to meet the needs of the evangelic community.

After the year 1945, the church was taken over by the catholic parish, and was originally functioning as a school church. Between 1950 and 1953, because of the fire and the reconstruction of the post-cathedral church, it was temporarily functioning as a parish church.