Nikolaikirche in Korbach

The large, three-nave, late-Gothic hall church was built in the mid-15th century on the site of the former St. Nicholas Chapel. The imposing west tower, set back from the main structure, was erected in 1359; the nave and choir were completed around 1460. The side aisles are half as wide as the central nave; the wooden galleries in both side aisles were not installed until after 1602.

While Korbach’s St. Kilian’s Church is unquestionably a Westphalian-style Gothic hall church, only the tower of Nikolaikirche corresponds to this type. The choir and nave, on the other hand, must be classified as belonging to the Hessian-Franconian style of Gothic architecture. A distinctive feature is the leaning tower, whose tilt was likely designed for structural reasons (leaning against the prevailing westerly winds and away from the nave). 

Inside the church, the Baroque winged altar by the Korbach Franciscan painter and the tomb of Prince Georg-Friedrich of Waldeck (1620–1692) are particularly impressive.

A keystone of the vault bears the coat of arms of Johannes Rinck, a Cologne councilman and Hanseatic merchant, who made significant donations to his hometown of Korbach; these funds helped, among other things, to complete the construction of Nikolaikirche.