St Nicholas’ bell tower, the oldest building in Lugoj, was part of the old monastic church of St Nicholas, built in the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries. The precise date of construction is not known. Some scholars claim that the church to which the bell tower belonged was built of wood by monks from Wallachia.

Although it is not particularly high, the perfect proportions of this building give it an honourable place among the monuments of Baroque art in Banat.

On the front wall can be seen the face of St Nicholas in bas-relief, and in the plaque below a heraldic design bordered by a Latin inscription: AEDIFICATA HAEC ECLESIA PER ME IOANNEM RATZ DE MEHEDIA SUPREMUM PREFECTUM INCLITORUM DISTRICTUM LUGOS, CARANSEBES ET LIPPA. ANNO DOMINI 1726 DIEE 19 IUNY– This church was (re)built by me, John Raţ of Mehadia, the supreme prefect of the famous districts of Lugoj, Caransebeş, and Lipova. Anno Domini 1726, 19th of June.