St Elisabeth Chapel

An early testimonial to the veneration of St Elisabeth by the people in Erfurt can be found in the St Nicholas Tower which is in Augustinerstrasse not far from St Augustine's monastery.

The earliest documentary evidence of the St. Nikolas church is dated 1212. However there are indications that suggest that as early as 1013 a bell here had called the faithful to prayer. In 1288 the patronage rights were assigned from St. Mary's Collegiate Church to the Order of German Knights.

Their headquarters in the Comthurhof were not far from St. Nicholas's Church. With the building of the tower 1360/61 – connected to the nave, the church became one of the so-called gate churches along the course of the Via Regia – an extensive trade route linking eastern and western Europe, which passed St Augustine's monastery and crossed the oldest stone bridge in Erfurt, the Lehmannsbrücke.

Eventually, in 1744, the nave was demolished because it was in such a bad state of repair, however, the church tower was left standing. The secco murals in the ground floor of the chapel were created during the building of the tower. These paintings of the Elisabeth-cycle are amongst the very few still extant 14^th century murals in Erfurt. The painters, with their great love for detail, have created a vibrant history of St Elisabeth.