Ruins of St. Paul's

 

Essentials of Ruins of St. Paul's 

Chinese Name: 大三巴牌坊 Pronunciation: dà sán ba pái fang

Address: Daba Street, Macau Special Administrative Region

Occupied Area: 2,800 Square Meters

Building Time: 1580

Best Visiting Time: All year round

Admission Ticket Fare: Free

Opening Hours: 9:00-18:00

Suggested Visiting Hours: 1 Hour

 

General Introduction of Ruins of St. Paul's

Ruins of St. Paul's, with a history of more than 350 years, is the most famous symbol of Macau. It was also the largest Catholic church in Macau at that time.
 

As one of the "Eight Sights of Macau", the Ruins of St. Paul's is located at the foot of Monte Fort, adjacent to the Macau Museum and the great Fort scenic spot on the left. The archway of Da Sanba is one of the sites of St. Paul's church.
 

Ruins of St. Paul's is the most representative historic site in Macau and the facade of St. Paul's Cathedral, which was completed in 1580. The church blends the style of European Renaissance and Oriental architecture, showing the fusion of Chinese and Western art, which is exquisite and magnificent.

 

History of Ruins of St. Paul's

St. Paul's Church was firstly founded in 1580 and it caught fire in 1595 and 1601. However, it was reconstructed not long after the church was burned down.
 

The church was completed in 1637 and then became the largest Catholic church in East Asia at that time.
 

Unfortunately, in 1835, a strong typhoon hit Macau, and the church caught fire for the second time, leaving a glorious history. On October 26th, 1835, the third fire left only its very large and beautiful facade and the front stairway. Later, it was also called "the archway of Da Shanba" in that its shape is similar to that of traditional Chinese memorial archways. There are exquisite sculptures on the wall of the memorial archway. One of the most noteworthy scrupltures is the Chinese stone lion head, which is the combination of Western religious art and Chinese traditional stone carving art.

 

How to Get to the Ruins of St. Paul's

By Bus

You can take bus No.3, 3X, 4, 6A, 8A, 18A, 19, 26A, 33, or N1A and get off at Xin malu Station and then walk along the Large Senado Square and walking trail.

Take bus 17, 18, 8A, or 26 and get off at Luis De Camoens Plaza Station.
 

 By Taxi

Chinese: 请带我去大三巴牌坊。English: Please take me to the Ruins of St.Paul’ s.

If you go to the Ruins of St.Paul’s from the Macau International Airport, it takes about 25 minutes.