St. Nicholas Church

St Nicholas’s Church stands in the small town of Löbau in the Görlitz district. It is one of the oldest churches in the town and began as a simple romanesque building in the late 13th century. A rectangular choir and crypt were added in the early gothic period, followed by a two-aisled hall in the late gothic period. The tower, finished in the 19th century, rises 83.5 metres above the market square. The church’s long history is marked by several major changes. In the 18th century a third nave was built to serve a growing congregation. In the 1930s the Dresden architect Carl Richter redesigned the altar, organ and pulpit. The organ itself has been replaced four times, most recently in 1992 when a new three-manual instrument was installed by Eule Orgelbau. Inside, the sandstone altar from 1885 shows the Last Supper carved in oak. The six bells in the tower include three cast in 2003, while an older bell still strikes the hours. The church’s interior today combines medieval stonework with later fittings, set beneath a high gothic vault supported by octagonal pillars.