Nestled in the middle of the vast green forest of the highlands, the century-old wooden church is always the pride of the people of Kon Tum region.
Located on the clear, romantic DakBla river, Kon Tum city is always the destination of many tourists who like to explore the wild and majestic features of the vast green forests and the ancient features of the stilt houses of the fields. Ba Na village includes a 100-year-old church, also known as Kon Tum Cathedral.
Coming to the city known as the mountain and forest lady of Kon Tum, from afar visitors will see a wooden church bell tower with a warm brown color towering up against the blue sky. As the most ancient and beautiful relic in Kon Tum, the Cathedral is always marked on the travel map of many tourists when coming to this young and dynamic highland city.
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| Overall façade of the wooden church. |
The Cathedral is affectionately called the wooden church by the people here because this unique project is built entirely of wood, designed with classic Roman architecture combined with traditional stilt house architecture of the Bronze Age. Ba Na village here. Construction was started by a French priest in 1913 and completed in early 1918 and put into use until now. Today, the project has become a symbol of the Central Highlands, the pride of the people of Kon Tum city and always has a strong attraction for tourists coming to the vast highlands.
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| Inside the cathedral |
The building is made entirely of a typical type of wood here, which is redwood, and the walls are made of soil mixed with straw, without using reinforced concrete or even lime mortar for painting and plastering. The church's facade is divided into four 24-meter-high floors, including four main columns and two auxiliary columns connected together into arcs that lift the entire church block with gradually smaller sizes as it goes up. Halfway up the tower are four doorways. Circular stained glass windows with many concentrically curved wooden slats are arranged perfectly, giving the window the appearance of an eye in the front of the church. At the top of the tower is a towering precious wooden cross, demonstrating the majesty and eternity of the cathedral.
The church's frame consists of four rows of 12-meter-high wooden columns running from the facade to the sacristy, two large rows of middle columns creating a wide, high and airy main space. The two outer rows of columns located close to the wall are two additional rooms with lower ceilings, all four rows of pillars are on solid stone bases that can withstand the test of time, supporting the weight of the cathedral.
Inside the church, there are many small rows of columns linked together by wooden arcs, forming an arch that supports the windows above, as if embracing everyone who enters the heart of the church. Inside the cathedral, there are many stained glass windows depicting biblical scriptures. These windows not only let in natural sunlight but also add a magnificent splendor to the cathedral. Although the system of wooden columns and rafters in the church is not meticulously or elaborately carved, the patterns with strong, liberal lines express the temperament of the indigenous people of the Central Highlands.
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| The majesty and antiquity of the church |
After nearly a century of exposure to the sun and wind of the Central Highlands, the church is still standing strong over time and is a famous tourist attraction of Kon Tum city. Visitors can visit Kon Tum wooden church at any time of the year. If you come during the bean flower blooming season, on the way to the church you will see the pink and white colors of the flower streets, adding to the splendor of Kon Tum's beauty.
If you come during Christmas, you will meet here thousands of parishioners of all ethnicities coming to the church. They stay in the empty lot on the right, sometimes for a whole week to attend the ceremony. Those were the days when the church was bustling, full of life with bustling trading scenes. Of course, in this market there are many handicraft products from the villages for sale. If you go to church on a normal day, you will encounter the silence of a cathedral. The rows of pews on both sides of the church during the service are a place for parishioners to pray, and at this time they become a place for students to review their lessons.
Coming to Kon Tum, in addition to admiring the unique beauty of the wooden church, you can also enjoy the special dishes of the Central Highlands mountains such as bamboo-tube rice, leaf salad, grilled chicken with black bamboo shoots and a jar of wine filled with mountain flavors. forest.