Chicken Church

When visitors arrive Dalat city, the first thing makes them feel impressive is thebell tower of the Cathedralwhich local people has called it "Cock church“. It is because there is a man-made cock stuck on the top of the tower. It is the biggest church in Dalat city which was designed and built by Frenchman.

Priest Robert together with Dr. Alexandre Yersin discovered Dalat city in 1893. Until 1917, priest Nicolas Couveur came to Dalat with his purpose to found a resting place for priests. Then, he decided to build a convalescence block which is a part of the Cathedral now. At the end of April 1920, Bishop Quinton made a decision to found Dalat Bishopric.

The Cathedral was begun construction on July 19,1931. Bishop Colomban Dreyer was the one who laid the first stone for the construction. The Cathedralwas designed in the style of the Roman Church in Europe. It had being built for 11 years.

It has 65m in length, 14m in width, 47m in height. From the church, we can see Xuan Huong lake, the city center and Langbiang mountain in the far distance. The Cathedral has 3 sections: one big room in the middle and 2 smaller ones in two sides.

It has a very high tower. Its windows have arch shape. Its roof is covered by tiles. Its walls are built by rocks with 30 - 40cm thick. These inside walls are decorated with some 1m X 0.8m statues and outside walls are painted with pink.

With the beautiful location, the church is also a famous place for tourists coming to take photo, especially in Christmas time. The bell tower is also a landmark for tourists to find where the city center is.

Joseph Nguyễn

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