NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL- THE SOLEMN ARCHITECTURE IN THE HEART OF SAIGON
Located in the central of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Notre Dame Cathedral is massive with ancient French architecture. The vast space from the outside to the inside of the Cathedral is one of the symbols of Saigon, as well as a familiar destination for young Saigonese, and also a place on the first list of domestic and foreign tourists when they first come here.
1.Features of Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral is the short name of Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral and officially named Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The architecture of the church was built according to the project of architect J.Bourard with Roman architectural style mixed with the Gothic architectural style. The building includes the cathedral, the bell tower, and the outside park.
Address: No. 1, Cong Xa Paris, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
2. How to get to Notre Dame Cathedral?
You can choose many means to travel to this famous place, such as bus, motorbike, car, taxi or if you want to experience the attraction, you can choose cyclo to go around watching the whole bustling church and streets. Some popular bus routes to Notre Dame Cathedral: 18,19,36, D1,49.
If you travel by motorbike, car or on foot, you can come and park your vehicles at the Reunification Hall, Youth Cultural Hall, or Hoa Binh school.
3.The architecture of Notre Dame Cathedral
The cathedral
Specially designed so that it can withstand up to 10 times the entire cathedral architecture inside. The interior is designed with the main hall, two secondary halls, followed by two rows of chapels. The entire length of the cathedral is 93 m, the widest up to 35 m, and the height of the dome is 21 m. With this design, the cathedral can accommodate up to 1,200 people.
The altar
The altars inside are finely carved with monolithic marble. Fifty-six colorful glass windows pieced together to create a stunning picture. All lines, edges, patterns follow the solemn and elegant Roman and Gothic forms.
The bell tower
The bell tower is like the soul of the church. In the beginning, there were only 2 bell towers. In 1895, there were 6 bells in 6 tones (do, re, mi, son, la, si) hanging on two bell towers and two additional spires to cover two 21-meter high steeples according to the architectural design of Professor Grades.
The park outside
The park is the campus outside the front of the cathedral. The centerpiece of the park is the statue of Our Lady of Peace, made by the sculptor G.Ciocchetti in 1959. The statue is 4.6 m high, weighs 8 tons, made of Italian white marble. Statue of Our Lady is in an upright position, holding the globe with a cross attached. Our Lady’s eyes gaze into the sky like a prayer of peace for the people and the country of Vietnam.
Notre Dame Cathedral is not only a famous artistic architecture but also a witness to the history of Saigon. Since the resistance against France, the church stands and witnesses all changes and developments of the city and Vietnam.
