Discover Kalkar: Church Art and Brick Gothic

Kalkar offers a range of cultural themes: the late Gothic furnishings of St. Nicolai Church, the town hall’s Brick Gothic architecture, and the town windmill ensemble with its brewery and beer garden. The late Gothic parish church of St. Peter and Paul also shapes the townscape in Grieth am Rhein. When planning a trip to Kalkar, you can explore sacred art, town history and a variety of buildings.

Church Art and Townscapes

St. Nicolai Church in Kalkar has nine late Gothic carved altars, sculptures and paintings, as well as contemporary glass art in 22 windows. Its furnishings thus combine late Gothic art forms with contemporary works. For culture enthusiasts, this offers a concrete comparison: the church’s character is defined not only by its altars and sculptures, but also by its paintings and glass art. The number of windows and altars also makes the furnishings tangible if you would like to explore different art forms by theme on your trip.

In Grieth am Rhein, the late Gothic parish church of St. Peter and Paul is a defining feature of the townscape. This means that two churches feature among Kalkar’s diverse cultural attractions: at St. Nicolai, the focus is on the furnishings described above and their artistic forms, while the parish church in Grieth is significant for the townscape of this Rhine-side town. This gives you a choice when planning your trip: focus on church furnishings or on the role of a church in the townscape.

Brick Gothic and Architectural History

Kalkar’s town hall was built between 1438 and 1445/46 in the Brick Gothic style. Its functions in town administration and trade, as well as its role as a courthouse, add a historical perspective to its architecture. The building can therefore be understood in terms of both its construction period and style, and its municipal and commercial roles. This offers a different way to explore cultural themes than through church art: here, architectural history and the historical role of a town hall come together.

The town windmill adds another distinctive feature. It forms an ensemble with a brewery and a beer garden. The term draws attention to how the three elements belong together, rather than to the mill alone. This places a variety of architectural themes side by side in Kalkar: the town hall as an example of Brick Gothic, churches with their own art-historical associations, and the ensemble around the town windmill.

Cycling and Regional Themes in the Wider Destination of Kleve

The wider destination of Kleve also offers guidance for cycling trips. A pocket planner, in its unfolded format, shows all the junctions in the district of Kleve and includes information on how the district-wide junction system works. One specific signposted route is the 128-kilometre Niers Cycle Route: it runs from the source of the Niers in Mönchengladbach through the districts of Viersen and Kleve to the municipality of Gennep in the Netherlands. In addition, the district of Kleve has more than 1,500 kilometres of cycle routes and numerous themed routes. This lets you consider a single signposted route and the larger cycling network as different scales of regional orientation.

The wider destination of Kleve also includes a variety of landscapes, with picturesque riverbanks, green meadows and extensive forests. If you would like to include regional culture and local food alongside cycling, you will find further themes there: shooting festivals, carnival and funfairs are part of local traditions in the district of Kleve; dates vary for individual festivals. Farm cafés invite you to experience the freshness of products directly from the producer. This gives you a choice of different travel-planning priorities: cycle routes and landscapes, local traditions, or a stop featuring regional produce.

Choose Accommodation to Suit Your Travel Plans

When looking for accommodation in Kalkar, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your trip. If you want to centre your visit on the town’s history, including the town hall, church art and town windmill ensemble, you can use these Kalkar themes as a starting point for your plans. If you also want to take cycling, landscapes and regional traditions into account, include the wider destination of Kleve in your considerations. Comparing options can be particularly useful if you are travelling as a group and weighing up how much space to give culture, activity or regional discoveries. This way, you can guide your search by the themes that matter most for your trip.

You can also discover Kehrum as another destination.

Discover more destinations: Kevelaer, Emmerich Am Rhein, Kleve, Appeldorn, Kranenburg, Bedburg-Hau, Straelen.

Back to the wider travel overview: Kleve.