Dalat Diocese Cathedral or Chicken Church in Da Lat City

Da Lat Diocese Cathedral (official name: St. Nicholas Cathedral, also known as Dalat Chicken Church because the top of the bell tower has a big chicken image) is one of the Oldest Catholic church in Vietnam. This is the cathedral of the bishop of Da Lat diocese, also the largest church in Da Lat, one of the most typical and ancient architectural works of this city left by the French. The church is located at 17 Tran Phu Street, Ward 3, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Da Lat Cathedral is 300 km from Ho Chi Minh City.

• Address: 17 D. Tran Phu, Ward 3, Da Lat City, Lam Dong
• Entrace Fee: Free of Charge
• Opening Hours:
  • Always opened for visiting outside
  • On Sunday: Opening 24 hours
  • Mon - Sat: 5:15–6:15AM, 5:15–6:15PM
• Mass Schedule:
  • Sunday: 05:30, 07:00, 08:30, 16:00 and 18:00
  • The other day: 05:15 and 17:15
• Dress Code: Decent Clothes Recommended

History of Dalat Cathedral:

History of Da Lat Cathedral is associated with the history of formation and development of Da Lat city. Along with Dr. Alexandre Yersin discovered Da Lat, there was Father Robert of the Society of Missionaries of Paris (MEP) in 1893. In 1917, the managing priest of the MEP in the Far East, Nicolas Couveur, came to Da Lat with the purpose of found a place to stay for the missionaries, and he built a parish monastery that is now part of the rectory. At the end of April 1920, Bishop Quinton (General Administrator in Saigon) issued a decision to establish the Diocese of Da Lat.

On May 10, 1920, priest Frédéric Sidot was the first parish priest of the Da Lat parish. Father Sidot built the church "HIC DOMUS EST DEI" 24m long, 7m wide and 5m high. This church is attached to the left wing of the parish house that Father Nicolas built. Its main door is structured in the shape of a pointed arc, except for the carvings and gold paintwork in the Asian style. On the arch of the main door, is engraved the Latin inscription "HIC DOMUS EST DEI" (this is the house of God).

On July 5, 1922, Bishop Quiton issued a decision allowing the Diocese of Da Lat to build a new church: 8m wide, 26m long with a 16m high bell tower. The work was inaugurated on February 17, 1923. On the tower hang 4 bells manufactured by Pacard company in Savoie province (France). This building no longer exists.

The current Da Lat Cathedral was officially started at 9:00 am on Sunday, July 19, 1931, laid the first stone by Bishop Coloban Dreyer (Apostolic Nuncio to Indochina and Thailand). Built according to the plan of priest Celeste Nicolas, the pastor at that time. The building was built in about 11 years.

• Construction of the sanctuary, the post-mortem, 2 wings, completed on March 30, 1932.
• Build 2 naves and lay the foundation for the bell towers.
• Build the main bell tower, 2 auxiliary bell towers, spiral stairs. November 14, 1934, put the cross on top of the main bell tower. At the top of the tower is attached a bronze chicken 0.66m long, 0.58m high. In February 1942, the blessing ceremony was held and the 14 Stations of the Cross were placed in the main nave of the building.
• The church was inaugurated on January 25, 1942.

Architecture of Dalat Cathedral:

The Chicken Church is designed according to the "model" of the Roman Catholic churches in Europe, representing the Roman architectural school. The ground floor of the church is in the shape of a cross (like a cross) with a length of 65m, a width of 14m, the bell tower is 47m high. With that height, from the bell tower of the church can see every part of the city. The main door of the church faces Langbiang mountain.

The interior of the church consists of 3 compartments: 1 large space in the middle and 2 small compartments on either side. The cross-section of the work clearly shows the winding system in the form of an integer arc with the rolling series and the cradle arch system. The columns in the interior have a column head system that simulates the classic form combined with spontaneity. Both the floor plan and the façade are designed with strict symmetry in the classical style.

Facade with high bell tower. The lines and details on the façade completely imitate the original European models. Windows have circular arches, strong and definitive lines, organized by vertical percentiles, lithographic tile roofs, especially the proportions between blocks are very harmonious and tight.

The attic is decorated with 70 stained glass panels made by Louis Balmet workshop in Grenoble (France), making the scene of the cathedral more fanciful.

It is called Chicken Church because of a Chicken on Top of the Church

The bearing wall is built with stone bricks about 30-40 cm thick. On the interior wall, there are reliefs with the size of 1m x 0.8m, made of cement and iron materials (shown by sculptor Xuan Thi). Particularly, the outer wall is always painted pink, adding to the solemnity of a religious architecture.

On the cross, there is a statue of a chicken (27m above the ground) made of hollow light alloy with a special chemical coating of copper 0.66m long, 0.58m high, rotating around a bearing shaft to indicate the direction of the wind. . The rooster could be a symbol of France (Coq gaulois: rooster of Gaulle), possibly a symbol of repentance, according to the New Testament passage recounting Jesus rebuking Peter (one of the 12). His apostles): "Until the rooster crows tonight, you will deny Me three times...".

The lightning rod, the round base to support the chicken and the cross indicating the four directions of east-west-south-north were repaired and replaced several times. The chicken swings in the direction of the wind on a very light silver ring. Indigenous people tell each other that the chicken is a very modern weather forecast station, which way the chicken turns is windy, rainy, sunny. Actually, because the chicken is on high, in order to prevent the wind from breaking, people have designed it to turn in the direction of the wind, and so whichever direction the chicken turns, the wind will go that way.

On the occasion of Christmas every year, this place attracts a lot of people both inside and outside the religion to visit the ceremony. In addition, in Da Lat, there are many smaller churches in which Domaine de Marie (Notre Dame) and Cam Ly church have their own characteristics.

How to Get to Dalat Cathedral?

This place to visit in Da Lat is located in the city center area, only about 1km from the market. That's why you can use goodle map to walk to it without taking too much time to admire such an ancient architecture.

From Da Lat market area, you cross Ong Dao bridge, then turn right onto Le Dai Hanh street. Go to the end of Le Dai Hanh street, then turn right on Tran Phu and you will see the Da Lat Con Ga church.

Adventure Journey

See Also:

• Dalat Vietnam Travel Guide - Things You Need to Know
• Best Things to Do and Places to Visit in Da Lat Vietnam