Located on the banks of the Balu and Shitalakshya rivers in the southwestern part of Gazipur upazila, there is a historical town inhabited by Christians, which is home to one of the largest Christian missionaries in Bangladesh. Its name is St. Nicholas Church (St. Nicholas Church). 

The date engraved on the wall there says it was built around 1663. On the other hand, 1888 is written on the wall as the current construction date. After the new construction, the present beautiful church may make many feel sick. The audience may say, how can such a beautiful modern church be the oldest church in Bangladesh? 

A few important features can be noted in the architectural plan of the church. It includes a balcony entrance; 2. Rooms for congregational worship and altars and private prayer rooms. However, instead of the traditional nardex in St. Nicholas Tolentino Church, a flat-roofed porch has been constructed on four strong pillars in imitation of this Bengali house. It can also be considered as a native character of European church architecture. And the reason behind this seems to be the shortage of artisans or the local influence. It is true that European philosophy has worked behind the creation of Christian churches here, but the builders are natives. 

The local builders may have wanted the architecture to be built in this local style while building the church with local raw materials. But in the end, while working with their needs in mind, the two national traditions may have become united. If you look a little, it is possible to enter a hall with the help of three doors through its balcony. There are twelve iron poles like a railway line. These covered the roof over the columned space. It has a lot in common with the Tejgaon church, which serves as a breakpoint for the aisles and naves. 

The entry space of the church essentially serves as a front porch. Its upper roof is built on six octagonal semi-Gothic pillars. It also has three semi-circular entrances. Unlike the tradition of narthexes in Christian churches, the narthex in this case is built in a very vernacular style, where a fusion of local hut style architecture with church architecture can easily be seen. On the other hand, the nave can be entered through the porch. In this case there is a large oblong hall, which rests on twelve pillars. The railway-like columns here divide it into aisles and naves. It is believed that there was a staircase towards the corner of this hall. It can be said to have disappeared with little trace left. Here the private prayer room is connected to the altar, accessed through a lens-shaped archway. However, this archway seems to be relatively narrow and narrow. The rectangular church architecture is mostly built in the north-south direction, with its entrance in the north. 

The church has a total of four entrances made in a mixture of local and foreign styles. Its first three entrances are on the north side as means of entry through balconies. But there is another entrance to the private prayer room on the south side, again decorated with arches. Excluding these entrances, there are a total of six and twelve open windows on the east and west sides. From this it can be assumed that the architectural plan of the St. Nicholas Tolentino Church was decided keeping in mind the hot and humid nature of the Indian subcontinent i.e. Bengal. There is only one reason for having so many windows. That is - to ensure the opportunity of air movement from outside. 

Particular variation can also be noted in the facade treatment and decoration of the church. Four octagonal pillars are used to construct its porch bay. And the three semi-circular archways entering the hall have already been mentioned. A lot of beautiful decoration is noticed around them. Above it is a beautiful cross and bell embedded in a distinctive Gothic arch. The arched entrance spandrels, door surfaces and window tops are decorated with latticework. Beautiful ornamentation can be seen in each of the east and west windows. The parapet that tops the whole structure, has spherical kiosks or canopies. On the other hand, the grotto is located in the northwest corner of the church. 

From here, the first Bible was translated into the regional Bengali language of Kaliganj. The first Bengali language bilingual dictionary and the first prose printing book were also published. 

How to go:

From Dhaka to Tongi, take a bus or CNG from Tongi to Kaliganj and cross the Ahsanullah Master Udal Bridge of Tongi to get down to Nalchata Setu. From there the distance of St. Nicholas Church is about two kilometers.