Nikolausberg
Encyclopedia
Nikolausberg is a north-east borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 of the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 town of Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Its name derives from a legend according to which three pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...

 came to the church in 999 AD, of whom one left relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...

s of Nicholas of Myra
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...

 following his death there. The name Nikolausberg apparently only got used as of the 17th century, however. The village was originally known as Ulrideshusen, with other variants recorded as Adelratheshusen, Ulradeshusen, Olerdeshausen, and Olrikshusen.

The founding of the church and village are not documented. However, the church incorporates remains of an Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...

 nunnery, which was first mentioned in a document of Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...

 in which he confirmed the independence of the nunnery. Among others, this document verifies the possession of sufficient land in the neighboring village of Roringen
Roringen
Roringen is a village in the borough of Göttingen, Germany. High on a hill, it is separated from the city proper some 5 km to the south-west by farmlands and part of the Göttingen Forest.-History:Etymology: Roringen means "settlement by the reed"....

 to support four families. The nunnery was already moved to the lower-lying village of Weende around 1180 AD, due to the lack of close-by wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

. Street names still remind of the former nunnery, such as Am Kreuze, Nonnenstieg and Augustinerstraße. Thanks to the relics which remained with the church after 1180,the church remained a pilgrimage destination until the reformation.

Among the known pilgrims to the church were Duchess Margarete of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...

 (1397) and Landgrave Ludwig of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a unity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided between the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.-History:...

 (1430).

Visits to the church are documented all the way into the 17th century based on signatures left on the inside of the church's walls.

The original church was conceived as a romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

, of which the lion portal and the arches surrounding it still survive. The church was rebuilt into a gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 hall church
Hall church
A hall church is a church with nave and side aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was first coined in the mid-19th century by the pioneering German art historian Wilhelm Lübke....

 as of the 14th century, and was completed as such following 1500 AD. The church was plundered in 1447, when soldiers of Duke Wilhem III of Saxony came through the area as part of the Saxon Brother War.

The stone altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

that originally held the relics of St. Nicholaus is now empty.
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