Phat Diem Stone Church

Kim Sơn, Ninh Bình

About 34 km from the center of Ninh Binh is Phat Diem Cathedral located between some beautiful canals and rice fields. This will be the central place of worship of Phat Diem Commune, which was also known as the 'Vatican of Vietnam' during colonial times. The size of the church and its location are impressive and it is one of the top attractions not to be missed in Ninh Binh district.

Phat Diem Stone Church is one of the most beautiful and famous churches in Vietnam with a special architecture: an elegant combination between Western church architectural styles and Vietnamese religious architectural works. .

This church took 24 years to build from 1875 to 1898. And as the name suggests, it was built entirely of stone and wood, materials that are easy to find in the mountains of Ninh Binh. The preparatory stage, mainly exploiting raw materials from local limestone mountains, took nearly 10 years to complete.

Phat Diem Church is a complex consisting of a lake, a cathedral, a stone church, Phuong Dinh (bell house) and three man-made caves. At first sight, visitors are easily attracted by the square lake on the main road to the cathedral. In the middle of the lake there is a small island with a statue of Jesus. Phuong Dinh easily becomes the next tourist attraction, with rock carvings on either side of the wall. It is 25m high, 17m wide and 24m long with three floors. The first floor is covered with large green stelae.

The middle and upper floors have a large drum and a large bell. When leaving Phuong Dinh, visitors will see a large church built in 1891 with the official name "Church of Our Lady of the Rosary". The church is 74m long, 21m wide and 15m high with four roofs. It is built with 6 rows of monolithic ironwood. In the church there are four small churches with different styles. Next to the big church is a stone church with the original name "Trai Church under Vo Nhiem Nguyen To Duc Menh" but now people often call it "stone church" because of the wall, column, foundation, crossbar, beam. evenly horizontal. made of stone. Inside the church there are many intricately carved reliefs, with chrysanthemums, bamboos, fir trees and apricot trees representing the four seasons of the year. Around Phat Diem church, there are many beautiful artificial mountains and caves.

With artistic design and skillful technique, Phat Diem Cathedral is the pride of many locals. Visitors can go to Phat Diem Cathedral at any time of the year, combined with Ninh Binh travel schedule. However, the most appropriate time to visit Phat Diem Cathedral is probably on Christmas. Because it is the largest community place of the parishioners here. On Christmas Eve, there will be many meaningful activities. Especially elaborately decorated and prepared, visitors will be amazed by the splendid beauty of Phat Diem Cathedral at night.

Opening hours: 09:00 - 17:00

Ticket price: free

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