Unique church architecture in Nghe An

Huy Thu• March 17, 2020 09:37

(Baonghean.vn) - Hoanh Son village, Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district is not only famous for being a hometown with many scholars who have brought glory to the land of learning, but this place also preserves many unique ancient structures, including Hoanh Son holy house.

For generations, Hoanh Son village has been the hometown of famous “mandarins and graduates” who have been recorded in history books. The village built a holy house during the Le Dynasty to worship Confucius, the sages and the successful scholars of the village. Photo: Huy Thu

The church is currently located on a 673m2 campus, built in the shape of the letter "khau". The worshiping hall and the sanctuary are only a few meters apart. Each building is a 5-compartment house (3 main rooms, 2 side rooms) with 6 rows of pillars, including 4 main columns and 2 end columns. Photo: Huy Thu

. At first, the church was surrounded by planks, but later the planks were removed, leaving only two empty buildings. In 2000, the locals built a railing (1m - 1.2m high) around it, the ends of the railings were supported by pillars, and in addition to the main door, there were also side doors. In the photo: Hoanh Son church viewed from the gable. Photo: Huy Thu

The special thing about the architecture of Hoanh Son Holy House is that the four rows of columns at the two ends of the worshiping hall and the sanctuary are connected to each other to form two side aisles, like the right and left wings of the house. Photo: Huy Thu

Thanks to this special connection, a closed, symmetrical, harmonious architectural complex has been created, surrounded by houses and an open-air yard in the middle. Photo: Huy Thu

Symmetrical across the small rectangular open-air yard are four stone steles about 0.8m high and 0.5m wide, engraved with Chinese characters on both sides, recording the names of nearly 20 outstanding children of the village who passed the national and secondary exams in Chinese studies (royal exams, third-class exams, doctors, bachelors, etc.). Photo: Huy Thu

Unfortunately, during the war years, a part of the stele was broken. Photo: Huy Thu

The steles are all elaborately carved with images of “two dragons facing the moon” and traditional patterns. Photo: Huy Thu

In the past, at this holy house, every year on important holidays, especially saints' holidays, the association of scholars would solemnly preside over the saint worship ceremony, to honor Confucianism and the village's tradition of learning. Currently, Hoanh Son holy house is one of the few ancient holy houses with unique architecture that still exists in our province. Photo: Huy Thu

Along with Hoanh Son communal house - a national historical and architectural relic, Hoanh Son holy house is not only a place for cultural, spiritual and religious activities, promoting and encouraging learning, demonstrating the tradition of respecting teachers of the local people, but also a relic, a symbol, affirming the proud cultural depth of a land of talented people, with a famous tradition of examinations in Nghe An. Photo: Huy Thu