The ceiling paintings, the countless figures of saints, the altars and the stained glass windows with the Beatitudes are particularly worthy of admiration. The history books mention a small church "St Niclasen" as a branch chapel of Herzogenweiler in 1221. In 1639, the parish, now part of Vöhrenbach, became independent. During this 800-year history, several interior and exterior renovations took place. The current version dates mainly from the years 1909 to 1912.
St Nicholas of Myra
According to tradition, St Nicholas was ordained a priest at the age of 19 by his uncle, Bishop Nicholas of Myra, and appointed abbot of the monastery of Sion - today a lost place, the namesake of a Catholic titular bishopric - near his home town. When his parents died of the plague, Nicholas inherited their fortune and distributed it to the poor: so he kept several young women from his neighbourhood in his hometown of Patara by secretly throwing money through the window - or down the chimney into the socks hung inside - thus ensuring a sufficient dowry and preventing the father from having to give his daughters away to prostitution; this is why Nicholas is considered a giver of good gifts and a friend of children; a very old version of the legend claims that he stole the money from his parents, which is reminiscent of a later legend of Francis. Source: Dictionary of Saints