17 The Church of St. Nicholas, Böllberg

The "Strasse der Romanik", a cultural route through Saxony-Anhalt dedicated to the Romanesque, leads to the Nikolaikirche in what was at the time of its construction in the 12th century the independent, originally Slavonic fishing

village of Böllberg. Dedicated to the patron saint of fishermen and helpers in times of flood, it is one of the more remarkable of its kind, owing to its architectural unity and simplicity. The exterior is unusably well preserved, the original small windows high in the north wall as well as the tympanum over the southern doorway. The apse at the east end of the towerless building with its saddle roof is crowned with a stone boss rather than the to be expected cross. The spirit of the Romanesque style is also reflected in the interior construction. Particularly noteworthy is the flat wooden beamed ceiling with its well preserved late Gothic patterned decoration (15th century), a significant witness to the German art history of its time. The Baroque altar, crucifix and pulpit date from around 1600, while the pews and the naïve portrait of Luther with its conch frame (1657) were restored in 1979.