St Nicholas – Neukirchen Castle loop from Falkenfels

01:37

5.65km

130m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 29, 2026

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Your route passes through a protected area

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Naturpark Bayerischer Wald

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Bus stop

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5.22 km

St Nicholas

Highlight • Religious Site

St. Nicholas Church

The exterior of this small church undoubtedly bears Romanesque features, suggesting a date between the end of the 10th and the middle of the 13th century. However, if one were to believe the old folk tale that a pagan temple once stood here, this would mean that the earliest origins of this church date back to pre-Christian times, and that this site was chosen as the successor to a pagan place of worship.
In fact, St. Nicholas Church had declined in importance after the castle chapel had developed over time into the main church. The fact that skulls were once excavated around the church suggests that the cemetery was originally located here, and that, in the early days of the town's history, the dead were buried in St. Nicholas. In 1717, the church was remodeled in the Baroque style. It consists of the nave and the recessed, semicircular choir in the east. A shingled turret with an onion dome rises on the gable roof of the nave to the west.
The high altar was built in the second half of the 17th century. Between two smooth, blue marbled columns with golden capitals, each supporting the entablature and the altarpiece, stands a statue of St. Nicholas, the church's patron saint, in a shrine with golden decorations. To the left is John the Baptist and to the right is St. Christopher. In the altarpiece stands a figure of St. Sebastian, accompanied by two angels. Among the figures, which are small in comparison to the columns, the altar features a large votive painting, a depiction of St. Anne and Her Three Children, a depiction of the Virgin Mary and her mother Anne holding the infant Jesus. At the top of the picture, the Holy Spirit is painted in the form of a dove. At the bottom of the picture, a married couple is depicted praying and apparently supplicating the saints. The coat of arms on the left identifies the man as Wilhelm von Paulsdorf, while the coat of arms on the right is that of his third wife, Helena von Ortenburg.

Source: Excerpts from wikipedia.de / ak-heimatgeschichte.mitterfels-online.de

Translated by Google •

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