Church "St. Nikola"

The pointed Gothic steeple of St. Nikola towers prominently above the roofs of the Nikola monastery, where also a part of the university is located.

Saint Nikola was founded in 1070 by Passau’s bishop Altmann as a home for the Augustinian canons. The local reformations, stipulated for the religious order and the Catholic church, go far beyond the diocese. The buildings of today’s monastery were built in the late 17th and early 18th century. Architect of this new building was the Italian Carlo Antonio Carlone, who also worked together with Carlo Lurago on the baroque facade of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

The reason why this church is Gothic today is extraordinary: On the 25th January 1348, an earthquake with its epicentre in the Italian region of Friaul could also be felt in Passau. The church was severely damaged and in danger of collapsing. The new construction on the old grounds were made in the Gothic style. The tower was erected between the years of 1410 and 1420.