Phat Diem cathedral

Located about 120 kilometers from Hanoi to the south, in Kim Son District of Ninh Binh Province, Phat Diem Cathedral is certainly one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Vietnam with unique architecture: an elegant combination between European Catholic architecture and Vietnamese religious buildings.
History
Father Tran Luc (Père Six in French, or cụ Sáu in Vietnamese, 1825-1899), who had been the priest of Phat Diem since 1865, was the architect of this church. He wished that this work would be a symbol of the harmony and integration between Catholicism and the traditional culture of Vietnam, as well as between Catholicism and other religions in Vietnam.
Construction
Phat Diem Cathedral was composed of a big church built in natural stone (so it named Stone Church), five small churches, a lake, and three Christmas caves. This edifice was started in 1875 and was basically completed in 1898. During the construction process, they have encountered a lot of difficulties. Firstly, because of the technical level and traffic conditions of the late 19th century in Vietnam, it’s very hard to transfer thousands of tons of building materials from provinces hundreds of kilometers away. Secondly, Kim Son is the new land, the ground is silty and not load-bearing. After all, they transported thousands of tons of stone and hundreds of heavy trees, some blocks of stone weighing 20 tons, some wooden pillars of up to 7 tons. A small mountain had been moved over 40 km to Phat Diem to solve subsidence of this area before construction. Though this coastal land often faces big storms every year, the Cathedral stands against these natural disasters for hundreds of years.
Architecture
In the famous novel “The Quiet American” of Graham Greene, Phat Diem was described that the cathedral was "more Buddhist than Christian". Indeed, this church was constructed in the Sino-Vietnamese style, blended with stone walls built in the European neo-Gothic style.

At first sight, the visitors are easily attracted to Phuong Dinh that is a bell house with three floors, with the construction that follows the traditional plan of communal house Tonkinese. The ground floor is similar to the three doors gate of the pagoda, built with blue granite. On the walls are carved stone bas-reliefs that tell the story of Jesus from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem until his Ascension. In addition, window grilles in the shape of bamboo, which is well known in the daily and spiritual life of the Vietnamese. There is a big drum hanged on the second floor and on the third floor, a bell 1.4m high, 1.1m in diameter, weighing nearly 2000 kg, cast in 1890.
The main Cathedral got the official name of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. It measures 74 m long, 21 m wide, 15 m high, has four roofs and five entries. It was built during the last 3 months of 1891, but the preparation of the materials and the installation of the ground had lasted 10 years. Inside, the visitors will be surprised by 48 ironwood columns, each weighs about 10 tonnes. At the back is the old monolithic high altar (3 m x 0.90 m x 0.97 m); with three visible sides carved with reliefs of flowers and tree of 4 seasons.
The stone church or the chapel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the first edifice built to be built of the cathedral, in 1883 by Father Six. Called the stone church because everything in the church is made of stone: walls, columns… Outside, there is a statue of Our Lady in the center and two square towers of five floors on two sides which remind the Pen Tower (Thap But) located near Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi. Inside, the three marble altars are also covered with sculptures, the main altar is in the middle, on which we see the tabernacle of carved wood, lacquered in red and gold, like what is found in houses or places of worship in Vietnam. The refined taste of the Vietnamese is expressed in the sculptures that illustrate a phoenix with outstretched wings, a lion with long manes and sharp fangs, and four seasons pictures. The cathedral is called "the pearl" of this set because of these marvels of sculpture.
Brief, Phat Diem Cathedral is a unique architecture in Vietnam that shouldn’t be missed by any travelers. Contact us if you like to receive more information about your tailor-made trip in Vietnam!