The Nikolauskirche was a parish church in

Oberndorf bei Salzburg Oberndorf bei Salzburg ( Central Bavarian: ''Owerndorf ba Såizburg'') is a small city in the Austrian state of Salzburg, about 17 km (11 mi) north of the City of Salzburg. It is situated on the river Salzach in the Flachgau district. ...

, Austria, dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, the patron saint of boatmen. The Christmas carol "Stille Nacht" ("

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

") was first performed in the church in 1818. A first church in the area, at Altach, was mentioned in the 12th century. It was known as the Schifferkirche St. Nikola or simply St. Nikola. After it burned down in 1757, it was rebuilt in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

and became the parish church of Oberndorf. After repeated flooding by the

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn (river), Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limeston ...

, it was demolished in 1910 and replaced by a new church when the whole settlement was relocated higher above the river.

History

First church, 12th century

A first church in the area from the 12th century was dedicated to

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of boatmen, in Altach, the oldest part of the present Oberndorf, a place for trading salt and other goods transported by boats on the

. The church, affiliated to the parish of , was managed by the boatmen. It was known as the Schifferkirche St. Nikola or simply St. Nikola. The building was damaged by flooding in the 1650s, requiring a restoration which was begun in 1661.

Rebuilt church

On 1 April 1757 Altach was severely hit by fire, including the church, with only the tower remaining. It was rebuilt from 1770 to 1775, with a new hall in

and a house that also served as a residence for the custodian and a school. The church was consecrated on 28 October 1798 by Sigmund Christoph Zeil-Trauchburg, then the prince-bishop of the

Diocese of Chiemsee The Bishopric of Chiemsee was a Roman Catholic diocese. While based on the islands of the Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany, most of its territory lay in the County of Tyrol, Austria. The bishopric ceased to be a residential see in 1808. and according ...

. The restoration was financed by income from the trading boats. The building, which was used as a boatmen's church until 1816. It was later used as a pastoral centre and from 1850 as the Oberndorf parish church.

Parish church

From 1816 when the border between the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

was changed, the Nikolauskirche became the parish church of the Austrian Oberndorf. The Christmas carol "Stille Nacht" ("

") was first performed in the church in 1818. The first parish priest was Johann Nepomuk Waibl in 1850. The church had to be closed due to flooding in 1852, while the foundation was strengthened by metal. In 1894 the organ balcony was transformed to seating for the congregation, and the organ moved to a new upper organ loft. Floodings in 1897 and especially 1899 damaged the church severely, and it was closed on 23 November 1903. It was decided to relocate the complete settlement to a different location higher above the river. From 1906 to 1910, was built.

Demolition

The demolition of the Nikolauskirche was decided in 1906. The commission for monuments (''Zentralkommission für Denkmalpflege'') tried to preserve at least the tower dating back to the first church, but it was rejected due to the costs, as was the concept to preserve at least a chapel. Demolition was completed in 1913. Ultimately, a new memorial chapel, the Silent Night Chapel, was built. It began in 1924 on top of the rubble of the former church and only completed in 1936 due to the economic restrictions after World War I; it was consecrated in 1937.

References

{{reflist Salzburg-Umgebung District 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria Buildings and structures in Salzburg (federal state)