Nha Trang Cathedral – All you need to know about Nha Trang Cathedral 2020

Nha Trang Cathedral is a Catholic Church, visited by many domestic and foreign tourists. This is a historical and cultural construction in Nha Trang. It was built during the French colonial period.

1. Overview of Nha Trang Cathedral

a. Where is Nha Trang Cathedral?

Nha Trang Cathedral is at 1 Thai Nguyen Street, Phuoc Tan Ward, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province. This Cathedral is the largest church in the city. It is about 720 square meters in area, located at an altitude of 12 meters on the top of Hoang Lan hill.

This place is very easy to find and move, visitors can go by any means: walking, taxi, motorbike, bus.

b. Other names of Nha Trang Cathedral

There are 2 names for Nha Trang Cathedral which you may know;

Stone Church (because it was built of stone)
Nga Sau Church (because it is located near a traffic circle)
The most popular name is Nui Church (because it is built on a small mountain – which means “Nui” in Vietnam).

2. The history of Nha Trang Cathedral

At the end of the 19th century (around 1885), there were only a few hundred Catholics in Nha Trang. In 1886, the French built this church to meet the needs of religious activities for this population and for French officials.

They temporarily built a small chapel on the coast of Nha Trang, which is now the area of ​​Nha Trang Bishopric. Louis Vallet (1869-1945) – a French priest watching parishioners in Nha Trang – intended to establish a parish in Nha Trang along with building a church for this new parish.

On September 3, 1928, the church was started construction on a small mountain, named Mount Bong with an altitude of about 12 meters. By June of 1929, the footpath to the mountain for pedestrians (including 53 steps) located in the North was completed.

In March 1930, the building of the parish house (house for non-liturgical activities of the parish) was completed.

On May 14, 1933, during the feast of St. Jeanne d’Arc, father Louis Vallet chose Christ the King as the title of church patron.

On July 29, 1934, the Apostolic Nuncio Dreyer blessed the bell, nicknamed Thérèse of the Child Jesus, given by a female in Saigon. The bell tower was inaugurated on December 3, 1935.

Father Louis Vallet passed away on October 24, 1945. His body was buried at the foot of the mountain, on the right side of the road to the church. Around 1969, the clock on the tower was broken and has not been repaired until 1978 and has continued to work ever since.

Read more: Best 26 things to do in Nha Trang (Updated 2020)

3. The architecture of Nha Trang Cathedral

The highest point of the church is the place where the Cross is placed on top of the bell tower, 38 m high from the road surface.

The church has a large dome, rose-shaped doorways in typical gothic style. Inside the church, there is a large and airy space, divided into a sanctuary area and the area behind the sanctuary very pure and solemn.

When you walk to the church, you will see the architecture is divided into 3 distinct parts: the top part consists of a corridor and two bell towers, the middle is the colorful glass windows while the door is decorated by roses. The middle floor is also the venue for the Catholic rite of the faithful. And the last floor is the door.

The highlight of the church is 2 bronze bells hanging on the bell-tower, which is manufactured and supplied directly from the famous French bell-making company – Bourdon Carillond. Besides, on the bell tower, there is a big clock with 4 faces facing in 4 directions.

The church is very large and lots of light are combined with curved arches, pointing straight to the sky, like a very harmonious and beautiful arrow shape. The walls are modeled by paintings of the suffering life of the Lord through 14 stages of the cross.

Although over 90 years old, the unique structure of the mountain church still retains the architectural values ​​from ancient times. Currently, the church is included in the list of monuments and landscapes of Khanh Hoa province.

4. The opening time of Nha Trang Cathedral

– Opening hours:
+ From Monday to Saturday: 5:30 – 17:00
+ Sunday: 5:00 – 7:00 and 11:00 – 16:30
– Ceremony time:
+ From Monday to Saturday: 4h45, 17h
+ Sunday: 5:00, 7:00, 9:30, 15:00, 16:30, 18:30
– Ticket price to visit the church: Free.
To the ceremony and ticket price of Nha Trang church

5. Some notes when visiting Nha Trang Cathedral

The church is a sacred place, so pay attention to how you dress: wearing polite clothes, skirts/pants over the knees is okay.
Be careful: At the main gate and the back gate of the church, there are often a number of groups of people who specialize in cheating foreign tourists to collect a ticket fee of up to 50,000 VND / person. You should remember that Nha Trang Stone Church is completely free to enter.