Duc Ba Cathedral

Location: 1 Cong Xa Paris Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: This is one of the oldest and biggest Catholic churches in Viet Nam.

HISTORY

The resplendent Governor's Palace, completed in 1875, symbolized the regime's political power in Asia. And five years later, the Duc Ba (Our Lady's) Cathedral was inaugurated, and became the spiritual and cultural crucible of the French presence in the Orient.

 

After the first French colonizing force arrived in Viet Nam in the mid - 19th century, it took only 21 years before the country had a cathedral to match the hulking Gothic edifices of France itself. The cathedral is supposed to represent the glory of the French Empire. Yet, as is always the case with colonization, this attempt to import French traditions into Viet nam transformed the colonizers' culture in the process. Even though the cathedral is built in a Western architectural style, it has a uniquely Eastern aspect.

 

ARCHITECTURE

Several architects put forward design proposals for the cathedral, but in 1877 the authorities selected Mr Bourard, who was famed for his religious architecture. He envisaged, and executed, a basilica-like structure with a square plan. The cathedral is composed of two main central bays with two sidereal corridors, with tall pillars and light coming in through sets of high windows, and a semi-circular shrine. The style follows a Roman pattern, although the outside contains some modifications: the cathedral's vaults are Gothic, and a modern steel skeleton supports the whole building.



In 1894 a pointed minaret was added to the bell tower, at the behest of an architect named Gardes, who was also responsible for the Xa Tay Palace, the building that now houses the Municipal People's Committee. The cathedral is a much smaller than those in France, but it was the largest in the French empire. The interior is very large: the principal shrine and two additional bays are 93m long, and reach 35m in width at one point. The semi-circular shrine at the rear seats a choir during services, and there are five chapels.

 

The walls are made of Bien Hoa granite, combined with red tiles from Marseilles, all without coating. Red tiles from France were also used on the roofs, but they were later replaced with tiles of equal quality from Phu Huu. Natural light streams in through stained-glass windows which were made by the Lorin Company from the French town of Sartre.

 

The whole building is well-ventilated thanks to a system of air-holes placed above and under the windows. The belfry is 57m high. For a long time it was the highest structure in the city centre, and was the first thing an arriving traveller would see when approaching the city by boat. Six bells weigh a combined 25,850kg. In 1885, the floor was taken apart and new pillars were added, because the original foundation could not bear the cathedral's weight. Stepping inside the cathedral, tourists see a line of Chinese characters eulogizing the Jesus' mother, "the innocent and unblemished Virgin Mother", and stained-glass portraits of Vietnamese believers amid Asiatic plants. On the square in front of the cathedral, there is a statue of the Virgin Mother made of white marble, symbolizing peace. All told, it's an unusual building: a Western architectural and religious style that has been transplanted into, and adapted to, the East. The colonizers were trying to impose French beliefs and customs onto Viet Nam but once that culture arrived on Asia's shores, it took on a life of its own. The cathedral is seen as a unique synthesis, adding an unmistakable Oriental flavour to an ancient Occidental recipe.

 

 

ALBUM
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
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Koi Fish Park

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Cu Chi Tunnels

Ho Chi Minh City

WHERE TO STAY
Dai Nam Hotel

Add: 79 Tran Hung Dao St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3824 2541 3824 2545

Ha Phuong Trang Hotel

Add: 106B Nguyen Van Cu St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3920 0886

Somerset Chancellor Court Ho Chi Minh City

Add: 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3822 9197

Spring Hotel

Add: 44-46 Le Thanh Ton St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 7362

Thao Nhi Hotel

Add: 185/20 Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3836 0020/ 3920 1262

Lavender Hotel

Add: 208-210 Le Thanh Ton St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 2222 8888/ 2220 2120

Kim Linh Hotel

Add: 116A Bui Thi Xuan St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3925 5300

Somerset Ho Chi Minh City

Add: 8A Nguyen Binh Khiem St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3822 8899

Nam De Hotel

Add: 10-12 Nguyen Trai St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3925 2541

Oscar Saigon Hotel

Add: 68A Nguyen Hue Blv., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 2959

Thanh Thu Hotel

Add: 34 Nguyen An Ninh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3827 5852

MC 64 Hotel

Add: 64 Bui Vien St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3836 5073

Lan Lan Hotel 1

Add: 73-75 Thu Khoa Huan St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3823 6789

Nam Long Hotel

Add: 283/3 Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3836 9695

Truong Thang Hotel

Add: 116 Nguyen Cu Trinh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3837 8248

Thanh Long Tan Hotel

Add: 23 Truong Dinh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3824 8770/ 3824 8769

MC 127 Hotel

Add: 127 Cong Quynh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3836 8761/ 3837 5928

Asian Ruby Luxury Hotel

Add: 26 Thi Sach St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3827 2838/ 3827 2837

Crystal Hotel

Add: 70 Nguyen Trai St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3832 2003

Tuan Anh Hotel

Add: 168 Cong Quynh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3836 7989

WHERE TO EAT
Thai Village

Add: 38 Ly Tu Trong St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3825 6704

Non La Restaurant

Add: 19 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3910 4012

Cung Dinh Rex Restaurant

Add: 146 Pasteur St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 2185

Song Ngu Restaurant

Add: 70 Suong Nguyet Anh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3832 5017

Quan An Ngon Restaurant

Add: 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3825 7179

Kinh Bac Restaurant

Add: 30 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 1364

Liberty Restaurant

Add: 80 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3824 8249/ 3829 9820

Thanh Nien Restaurant

Add: 35 Hai Ba Trung St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3822 5909

Yeebo Restaurant

Add: 1 Le Thanh Ton St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3823 0368

The Sushi Bar

Add: 2 Le Thanh Ton St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3823 8042

Ashoka Restaurant

Add: 17/10 Le Thanh Ton St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3823 1372

Malee Thai Restaurant

Add: 37 Dong Du St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 3029

Amigo Restaurant

Add: 55 - 57 Nguyen Hue St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3829 0437

Gerten Stadt Restaurant

Add: 34 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3822 3623

La Taverne Restaurant

Add: 76 Suong Nguyet Anh St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3925 2616

Good morning Vietnam Restaurant

Add: 197 De Tham St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3837 1894

La Camargue Restaurant

Add: 191 Hai Ba Trung St., Dist. 3

Tel: (84-28) 3520 4888

Sama Restaurant

Add: 35 Dong Du St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3822 4814

Château Restaurant

Add: 160B Tran Hung Dao St., Dist. 1

Tel: (84-28) 3920 0079

Bo De Nguyen Thuy Restaurant (Bohi Tree)

Add: 175/16 Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist.1

Tel: (84-28) 3837 1910