Nha Trang Cathedral

Rising above the traffic on a small hill near the railway station, Nha Trang Cathedral is one of those buildings that seems to belong somewhere else. Its steep roof, pointed windows and square bell tower recall a parish church in provincial France. Its colour, a soft grey that turns honey-gold at sunset, is all its own.

Officially it is the Cathedral of Christ the King, the seat of the Catholic diocese of Nha Trang. Most residents simply call it Nhà thờ Núi, the Mountain Church, after the rocky hill it stands on.

Built on a hill

The church was built by French missionaries in the late 1920s and early 1930s, in a simplified Gothic style. Instead of carved stone, its walls are made from large blocks of cast concrete, which give the building its even, almost monolithic surface. A road winds up the slope to the main entrance, past statues of saints and the lawn of the church grounds.

Inside, the nave is tall and quiet. Stained glass windows fill it with coloured light in the afternoon, and the high wooden ceiling carries sound well when the choir sings.

The wall of remembrance

On the slope beside the church, look for a hillside lined with small memorial plaques and urns. This is where parish families keep the ashes of relatives, and on many days you will see people tending them with flowers and candles. Walk quietly here.

A different side of Nha Trang

Vietnam has a substantial Catholic community, and the cathedral is a reminder that the country’s spiritual life is varied. In a single morning in Nha Trang you can visit a Cham temple, a Buddhist pagoda and a Gothic church, each still used by the people who built their lives around it.

At Christmas the cathedral grounds fill with lights and nativity scenes, and the streets around it become a festival in their own right.