Situated in Kim Son distr, Ninh Binh province. It’s far from Ha Noi 120km to the South. Phat Diem Stone Cathedral is among the most famous and most beautiful churches in Vietnam with unique architecture: a tasteful combination of western church architecture design and Vietnamese religious buildings.
How Phat Diem Stone Cathedral Special?
Phat Diem Stone Cathedral is among the most famous and most beautiful churches in Vietnam with unique architecture: a tasteful combination of western church architecture design and Vietnamese religious buildings. It took 24 years to build this church from 1875 until 1898. The church was built by stone and timber. The material very easy to get in Ninh Binh province.
The preparation stage, mainly extracting substances from limestone mountains, took the neighborhood as much as 10 years to finish.
What to do in Phat Diem Stone Cathedral?
Phat Diem Cathedral is a complex comprising of a river, a cathedral, a stone church, Phuong Dinh and 3 artificial grottoes. At first sight. Visitors will see the square lake in-front of the cathedral. At the center of the lake, there’s A little island with a statue of Jesus Christ. Phuong Dinh readily becomes the next eye catching monument, with rock carvings on either side of the walls.
It’s 25 m large, 17m broad and 24m long with three floors. The first floor is covered by large green flagstones. The upper and middle floors house a big drum and a bell.
Leave Phuong Dinh. You’ll see a great cathedral. It was built in 1891 with the official name Nha tho Duc Me Man Coi. The cathedral is 74 meters long, 21 meters wide and 15 meters high with four roofs. It had been built 6 rows of monolithic ironwood. Inside the cathedral are just four small churches of different styles. Next to the grand cathedral is a stone church with formed name “Nha Tho Trai tim Vo Nhiem Nguyen Toi Duc Me”.
It is worth a visit Phat Diem Stone Cathedral
But now people typically refer to it as “Stone church”. Because from its walls, columns, earth, pubs to tie beams are made of stone. The interior of the church has many sophisticatedly carved reliefs, with chrysanthemums, bamboo, fir tree and apricot tree that symbolize four seasons annually.
Around Phat Diem Cathedral, you will find so many beautiful stone caves and hills that are artificial. With an artistic design and skillful approach, Phat Diem Cathedral is a pride of several local Ninh Binh individuals. Beside visit Phat Diem Stone Cathedral you may visit Kim Son sedge mats village for Ninh binh day tours start from Hanoi.
When is the best time to visit Phat Diem Cathedral?
Visitors can go to Phat Diem Church at any time of the year, combined with Ninh Binh travel schedule. However, the most suitable time to travel to Phat Diem Church is probably at Christmas. Because the largest community activity of the parishioners here.
At Christmas Eve, there will be many meaningful activities. Especially elaborately decorated and prepared that will make visitors bewildered by the splendid beauty of Phat Diem Church at night.
What to eat near Phat Diem church?
What is delicious in Kim Son Ninh Binh? Coming to Hoa Lu ancient capital without enjoying Ninh Binh specialties, it is considered traveling Ninh Binh. When traveling to Phat Diem Church in Kim Son Ninh Binh, visitors will be able to eat dishes. Such as miscellaneous fish salad, stork fish specialties, Ninh Binh mountain goat, Ninh Binh burnt rice, Lai Thanh – Kim Son wine ..
How to get to Phat Diem Stone Cathedral?
From Hanoi:
- Travel with Car/Taxi 2 hours ~ 120km
- By bus/motorbike more than 2 hours
- By train (Hanoi – Ninh Binh) then from Ninh Binh you can go here by taxi or motorbike
Quick tips:
- “It’s good for: Family tours, Couple, and solo
- Best time to visit (from Sept to April)
