Veszprém – the Ruins of the Church of St. Nicholas

A small archaeological park commemorates the Parish Church of St. Nicholas that once stood here in a green space on Kálvária Hill between the Veszprém County Hall and the Hospital. The church walls made from broken rock only show the outline of this church that stood for a long time, but was destroyed during the Turkish period. The first church was of quite modest size with a single nave, built in the 12th century on top of a former cemetery. A narthex was added to the building probably as early as in the 13th century, and the apse was significantly enlarged later during the Middle Ages, in the 14th or 15th century. The former simple, straight apse on the small old church was replaced by a larger, reinforced polygonal apse with buttresses, alongside which a sacristy was also constructed. The Gothic remodeling presumably involved the construction of vaulting as well. The nave area was reinforced with buttresses, a portal structure was erected, and the sacristy was further enlarged in the 15th-16th centuries. It seems that the interior of the church was divided into two parts by the construction of two pillars, or in other words, it was converted into a double nave, and it was also given spectacular vaulting at the same time. Read less