St. Nicholas Church, Strasbourg, France

Saint Nicholas Church is a small Gothic church where Jean Calvin led services and preached in 1538. The Church no longer functions as a parish church, today it is used by a Charismatic group called 'Renouveau Saint Nicholas'.

The church was built between 1387 and 1454 on the site of an earlier church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. This earlier church, which dated from 1182, was founded by the Knight Walther Spender and had been built on the site of a small Roman fort. The tower with its tapering spire was erected in 1585 . The interior was remodeled during the 17th Century. The façade and the sacristy, which date from 1905, are by Émile Salomon, the architect of the Temple Neuf.

The interior contains remains of 15th Century frescoes. The 1707 organ of the brothers Andreas and Gottfried Silbermann was dismantled in 1967.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in France

User Reviews

조안나 (2 years ago)
Dr. Schweizer from Algerian Kegerze, who worked as a pastor, stopped by while passing by Petite France. Very small and quiet.

Alec Pugh (2 years ago)
Beautiful place to visit very enjoyable.

thomas coulaud (2 years ago)
It is a place of living prayer where one feels welcome. The vigils begin with a welcome time, then a long time of praise in a living style. God manifests his presence and every first Sunday of the month, the emphasis is given to the discovery of faith in Jesus Christ. Some beautiful paintings dress the place and gives it a warm atmosphere.

Christian Fassnacht (3 years ago)
Très belle Église avec une très belle accoustique.

G. K. (3 years ago)
Des que l'on rentre dans les lieux l'on ressent que le Seigneur est présent.Quand la louange commence pas de doute l'on est bien dans une église vivante.Le Saint.Esprit est à l'oeuvre les chants sont réels et nous amènent à avoir envie de louer notre Seigneur et Sauveur.Je remercie notre Seigneur et Sauveur Jésus d'avoir placé de réels Chrétiens dans ces lieux.Je ne suis pas membre , mais que sympathisant ( je viens d'une église évangélique de Wasselonne) mais suis heureux de rencontrer des hommes et femmes (frères et soeurs) qui vivent réellement leur foi.Que le Seigneur bénisse ces lieux ...Gaston

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

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Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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