Referring to Hanoi, people immediately think of Sword Lake and Uncle Ho’s mausoleum, when it comes to Saigon, everyone probably immediately remembers Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon – a famous architectural work of this beautiful city.
Introduction to Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon , official name is Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon located at No. 1, Cong Xa Paris, Ben Nghe ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city.
(Photo @nguytann)
This is one of the unique architectural works of Saigon, bearing the characteristics of Vietnamese tourism and is an indispensable destination for domestic and foreign tourists in Saigon travel .
History of Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon
Immediately after conquering Saigon, the French colonialists built a church on the banks of the “Great Kinh”, also known as the Charner sutra, where the headquarters of the Court of the Liturgy of the Republic of Vietnam was located to celebrate Mass. for Catholics.
That church was made of wood and completed in 1865 with the name Saigon Church . Later, because this wooden church was heavily damaged by insects such as termites and wood-beetles, in August 1876, the Governor of the South of Duperré held a project to design a new church.
Overcoming dozens of other design projects, the one of architect J. Bourard was selected and put into construction in 1877, costing about 2,500,000 French francs in about 3 years.
(Photo @ stella1.99.0)
By 1958, Father Joseph Pham Van Thien – the ruler of the Saigon Parish at that time, had carved a statue of Our Lady of Peace in Carrara white marble of Italy.
In 1959, it was moved to Vietnam and built in the flower garden in front of the church. At that time, the priest himself wrote a prayer saying “May Our Lady give Vietnam peace” and then read it in front of a large number of guests. Since then, the name Notre Dame was born and is used to this day.
The unique architecture of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral
Outside the church
Although built for a long time, but time or fierce war can not fade, destroy the splendor of Roman architecture mixed with Gothic special.
The cathedral has a circumference of 91 x 35.5 m, a height of 21 m, is located in the middle of the square, adjacent to the traffic space of the square and has no barriers or separate campus, becoming a highlight in the air. Saigon urban space.
The cathedral is designed in isolation from other buildings (Photo @ falover.blog)
All construction materials for the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral from screws, cement to stone bricks were made in Toulouse France and transferred by sea. Thanks to this special brick, bare, not plastered, not covered with moss, so far it still retains a bright pink like new.
The two white roofs on the bell tower did not exist in the original design, but in 1894 it was modified according to architect Gardes’s plan to reshape the previously mistakenly-mistaken Gothic style here.
The church is very attractive (Photo @ an.yen.23.1)
Therefore, it has increased the length of the two bell towers up to 57.6 m, for a long time it is at the highest position in the city center (10 meters above sea level). On the tower there are 6 bells engraved with fine patterns with a total weight of up to 28.85kg, specially made in France and each bell is corresponding to a sol – dollar – rê – mi – la – note. si.
On each top of the tower is attached a Cross 3.50m high, 2 m wide, weighs 600 kg, making the overall height from the ground to the top of the Cross is 60.50 m. Therefore, visitors to Saigon at that time by sea, most see the roof of this church bell first.
Two towering bell towers (Photo @ qquii.shi)
On the front of the building, between the two bell towers, under the roof is placed a clock made in Switzerland in 1887. If viewed from the front, the face of this clock is like a window, but the side in it was a rather massive movement, weighing more than 1 ton. Although old and rudimentary, this watch still works quite accurately.
Beautiful giant clock (Photo @kyduuu)
In front of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral is a brilliant green flower garden, separated from the church hall by a traffic on the square. In the center of the flower garden is the statue of Our Lady of Peace made by the sculptor G. Ciocchetti in 1959 in Italy, weighing 5.8 tons, 4.6 meters high, made of white marble, not polished, so it remains. keep the primitive, ancient look.
Green flower garden all year round (Photo @ twindy1008)
A great impression on visitors’ hearts is the vertical statue of Our Lady, holding the globe in hand, on the globe with a cross, Mary’s eyes are always staring at the sky like praying …
The majestic statue of Our Lady (Photo @ dzungnn0210)
In addition, the entire cathedral has up to 56 stained-glass windows, which are completely imported from France. Each box describes characters or events in the Bible. The vibrant, subtle colors of the windows create a magnificent and splendid image.
Inside the church
When visiting Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral , you definitely have to take time to admire the interior to feel most clearly the harmonious crystallization of post-Roman (Romanesque) architecture and orthodox Gothic architecture.
The cathedral’s interior is designed with a main hall (main hall) in the middle and two side sections, followed by two rows of chapels.
The main hall has a height of 21m, can accommodate up to 1,200 people and is separated with two extra spaces by 2 columns of 12 which represent the 12 apostles. These pillars are arched, combined with steel pillars to support the dome.
The cathedral is designed with the essence of “West” (Photo @ 4u2c.2)
Two rows of chapels on either side are divided into compartments with more than 20 altars and small statues of fine white stone. Although the interior of the cathedral is simple, it exudes an ancient elegance, giving visitors a strange feeling of peace.
In addition, the lighting system of Notre Dame is also very uniquely designed. During the day, illuminated by sunlight, through stained-glass windows and vents that make the interior and architecture more magical, at night the electric lights will make the space float. turn over.
Window cells are great for lighting (Photo @ quyendt121)
One thing that perhaps few people know is that above the main door is the guard – where the tube organ is stored – one of the oldest in Vietnam. This guitar is entirely hand-produced to serve the church’s rituals. But now unfortunately it has been completely damaged by the termite eating the wood of the manual control keyboard so it cannot be used anymore.
Solemn luxury space of the ceremony (Photo @uyenhiie)
It can be said that Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral is a typical project for the harmonious combination between Eastern and Western architecture, is a typical symbol contributing to the appearance of Ho Chi Minh City. .
Interesting experiences at Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral
Perhaps, for those who believe, this place is an extremely ideal place to stop because you can come here to pray with everyone.
If you simply come here to visit, in addition to admiring the impressive architectural style of the church and save the luxurious and luxurious photos as a corner of the West, you can also sit and listen Gentle chanting and bells ringing, make sure you feel extremely peaceful and serene.
Take some “so deep” photos (Photo @ oa.n.h_)
And when you have been walking, watching boredom, do not forget to visit the nearby iced tea shops to enjoy a cool cup of tea, sip some of Saigon’s famous snacks and watch the scenery of the flow of people. back around the church. Or playing with the nearby pigeons wouldn’t be bad either.
Sip a cup of tea and enjoy the beauty of the church (Photo @ lynhyeu55)
A bit of elegant delight during the tour (Photo @ nhiphan.2409)
Opening hours of Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon
Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral is open to visitors every day. And the church’s mass time will take place at 5:30 am and 17:00 on Monday to Saturday. Particularly on Sunday, the Masses take place in the hours: 5:30 – 6:30 – 7:30 – 9:30. and 16h – 17h15 – 18:30 pm.
How to move to Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral
Because it is located in the city center, you can completely use a motorbike to visit the church. If you do not have a private vehicle, you can take a taxi or take a bus here. And if you want to walk while watching the streets while protecting the environment, cyclo is the ideal vehicle for you.
What are you waiting for without making a trip to Saigon to admire the unique and impressive architecture of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral .
Photo: Internet