Phat Diem Cathedral is known as a famous Catholic building in Ninh Binh with more than 130 years old, with unique architecture and different from the times. After many decades of construction, this place still retains its impressive beauty blending Asian and European styles and attracts a large number of tourists to visit every year.
General information about Phat Diem Cathedral
Phat Diem Cathedral (commonly known as Phat Diem Stone Church) is a Catholic church complex of about 22 hectares, located in Phat Diem town, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province, about 120 km south of Hanoi, 30 from Ninh Binh Town.
Not only does it have a unique architecture, Phat Diem Cathedral also has great historical value because it has existed for more than 100 years. This architectural complex was gradually built by priest Father Tran Luc (also known as Mr. Sau, 1825-1899), the architect of the Catholic architectural work.
Starting in 1862, priest Father Tran Luc researched and surveyed the terrain, as well as the entire land of Ninh Binh. After that, he chose this place to build the Catholic work. In 1865, he began searching for materials for the work and it was not until 1875 that construction officially began. It was not until 1898 that it was basically completed.
To build this cathedral, the workers had to spend a lot of effort, then go through countless difficulties when having to transport by road and water thousands of tons of stone, some slabs weighing up to 20 tons, hundreds of ironwood pillars, including a pillar 12m long, 2.4m in diameter, weighing 7 tons, from the region of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and many other places, hundreds of kilometers away to here.
After more than 130 years of existence, despite being affected by many natural disasters and wars, the project has remained intact to this day. The architectural complex of Phat Diem Church was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1988. Phat Diem Cathedral is not only a place for parishioners to pray but also a famous tourist destination in Ninh Binh.
The structure of Phat Diem Cathedral
The complex area includes ponds, monuments, Phuong Dinh (bell tower), Square Hall, chapels, artificial caves, …. The highlight of the architecture of Phat Diem stone church is the harmonious combination of Eastern and Western architecture. Phat Diem cathedral complex includes a large church and 5 small churches. One of them is built entirely of natural stone, called the stone church, Phuong dinh (bell tower); pond and 3 artificial grottoes.
From the entrance a path leads us to a rectangular lake. In the center of the lake is an island with a statue of Christ. Next comes a huge three-level square pavilion, build of stepping stones. Its arches are made of sophisticatedly overlapped stones. Both sides of the four walls around the pavilion are decorated with embossments, many of which show the Christ shouldering the cross and other gods.
On the second layer of the pavilion, there is a drum and on the 3rd layer there is a bell cast in 1890 with 1.4 high, 1.1 in diameter and nearly 2 tons in weight. The pavilion consists of five arches: each arch stands in each of the pavilion’s four corners and the highest arch is on the 3rd layer. The roofs of these give arches are not as high as those found in other cathedrals but typically curvy and they resemble the arches of ancient Vietnamese temples and pagodas.
The main cathedral was built in 1891. It has five delicately carved entrances and three high curvy-roof towers. It’s 74m long, 21m wide and 15 high, having four roofs and six rows of ironwood pillars in the middle are 11m high and 2.35m in circumference. The main altar is a stepping stone 3m long and 1m wide, 0.9 high and weight about 20 tons. It’s three facades and two sides are carved with flower decorations.
Lying parallel to the main cathedral are four smaller ones, each different from others in style. At the end of the main cathedral to the north are three man-made caves, the biggest of which is Lo Duc natural-looking cave in the northeast.
At the far end, to the northwest is the Stone Cathedral – the place for worshiping the heart of Virgin Maria. It earns such name because all of its columns, beams, wells and window bars are stonework.
Its inner wall is made of marble with embossments of stone lions and phonics. It was built in 1889, measuring 15 long and 9m wide.
It can be seen that the sophistication in the Western church architecture is blended and harmoniously combined with traditional Eastern architecture, reflecting the skillful and excellent stone carving art of Vietnamese workers. The Phat Diem Cathedral is an attractive tourist destination for domestic and international visitors when coming to explore Ninh Binh.
Source: collected by An
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