St Nicholas Church Gazipur

St. Nicholas Church (St. Nicolas Church) is a holy place for Christians in Kaliganj Upazila of Gazipur . Built in 1963 on the banks of Shitalakshya river, this historic church holds the status of the largest Christian missionary church in Bangladesh. The first bilingual Bible was translated into the regional Bengali language of Kaliganj from St. Nicholas Church. Even the first bilingual dictionaries and prose books were published from this church.

This church was built by order of Emperor Jahangir after the Portuguese Christians left their home in the late 16th century. Later in 1988, a new church building was constructed by Bengali craftsmen in European architectural style. A combination of two vernacular architectures, the upper roof of the church is made in six octagonal semi-Gothic style. A lock standing on 12 iron pillars has four entrances to enter the church. And in front of the main entrance there is a standing statue of Jesus. Besides, the church's porticoed entrance, congregational prayer room, single prayer room, three semi-circular entrances and large hall are architecturally eye-catching. A primary school was started in 1910 centered around the church, which has now been upgraded to a lower secondary English school.

One has to come to Tongi from Gazipur to visit St. Nicholas Church. From Tongi, one can go to St. Nicholas Church by crossing Ahsanullah Master flyover via Kaliganj bus or CNG. St. Nicholas Church is only 2 km from Nalchhata Bridge.

St. Nicholas Church can be visited in one day from Dhaka. But if necessary, you can contact the residential hotels like Al Madina Residential Hotel, Hotel Jolly, Hotel Anamika, Japan Residential Hotel, Hotel Dream Land Residential, Hotel Eliza International etc. near the city intersection and Konabari bus stand in Gazipur for overnight stay. Besides, Gazipur has several state-of-the-art resorts like Sarah, Sohag Palli, Bhawal, Green View, Spring Valley, Chudha and Nakshatra Bari. However, in case of staying at the resort, booking should be done in advance.

Kathakali, Cafe Kasturi, Sky Ward, Hotel Bangla Ghar and Rupsa Restaurant are very popular in Gazipur. Apart from this, there is provision for light tea and snacks in the city market near St. Nicholas Church.

Other Sightseeing Places Other sightseeing places in Gazipur include Bhawal Rajbari, Bhawal National Park, Nuhash Palli, The Base Camp Bangladesh and Bangabandhu Safari Park etc.

Feature Image: Manzurul Al Morshed