Catholic parish church of St. Nicholas in Murnau

The Catholic parish church of St. Nicholas is located in the Upper Bavarian market town of Murnau am Staffelsee in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Together with the parish of Murnau, it belongs to the deanery of Benediktbeuern. The parish is assigned to the Diocese of Augsburg. The patron saint's day of the parish church is December 6. After the Gothic predecessor of today's parish church had become dilapidated and too small, the foundation stone for the new church was laid in 1717 by the abbot of Ettal, Placidus Seitz. The nave was built between 1717 and 1721, followed by the choir between 1725 and 1727. The base of the Gothic tower was raised between 1730 and 1732. The architect is unknown. The church was consecrated on May 6, 1734, by Sigismund Mayr, Auxiliary Bishop of Augsburg. In 1736, the building was elevated to parish church status. The church tower was completed in 1750 with a dome and lantern, and has since measured 50 meters in height. A second tower, which was probably planned, was never built. The late Baroque interior was added gradually due to a lack of funds: the high altar was probably donated by Ettal Abbey in 1771. The ceiling frescoes in the choir and nave were not created until around 1870 and 1893–95, respectively. Since 1756, St. Nicholas has been a pilgrimage church dedicated to Mater dolorosa. To mark the 300th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, the church underwent extensive renovation from 2012 to 2017.