Historic Center of Macau
| Historic Centre of Macao* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
File:St paul's cathedral, macau.jpg Ruins of St. Paul's in Macau | |
| State Party |  China
|
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv, vi |
| Reference | 1110 |
| Region** | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2005 (29th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
The Historic Centre of Macau (Portuguese: O Centro Histórico de Macau; Traditional Chinese: 澳門歷史城區) is a collection of over twenty monuments and sites that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of eastern and western cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of the city's cultural heritage, including monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples. In 2005 the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, making it the 31st designated World Heritage site in China.
List of sites
Ruins of St. Paul's
The Ruins of St. Paul's (Portuguese: Ruínas de São Paulo) refer to the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral in Macau dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau's most famous landmarks. In 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.
Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral's fortunes similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The Fortaleza do Monte overlooks the ruin.
The ruins now consist of the southern stone façade—intricately carved between 1620 and 1627 by Japanese Christians in exile from their homeland and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola—and the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the Cathedral. The façade sits on a small hill, with 66 stone steps leading up to it. The carvings include Jesuit images with Oriental themes, such as a woman stepping on a seven-headed hydra, described by Chinese characters as 'the Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon'. A few of the other carvings are the founders of the Jesuit Order, the conquest of Death by Jesus, and at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched.
Resisting calls for the dangerously leaning structure to be demolished, from 1990 to 1995 the ruins were excavated under the auspices of the Instituto Cultural de Macau to study its historic past. The crypt and the foundations were uncovered, revealing the architectural plan of the building. Numerous religious artifacts were also found together with the relics of the Japanese Christian martyrs and the monastic clergy, including the founder of the Jesuit college in Macau, Father Alessandro Valignano. The ruins were restored by the Macanese government into a museum, and the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel in a way which preserves the aesthetic integrity of the facade. A steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. It is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins from the stairs, for luck.
Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
The Old Protestant Cemetery (Traditional Chinese: 基督教墳場; Simplified Chinese: 基督教坟场), located close to the Casa Garden, was established by the British East India Company in 1821 in Macau in response to a lack of burial sites for Protestants in the Roman Catholic Portuguese colony. It is the last resting place of the artist George Chinnery, missionaries Robert Morrison and Rev. Samuel Dyer, Royal Navy Captain Henry John Spencer-Churchill (son of the 5th Duke of Marlborough and great-great-grand-uncle of Winston Churchill) and US Naval Lieutenant Joseph Harod Adams (grandson of the second president of the United States, John Adams, and nephew of the sixth, John Quincy Adams). In 2005, the cemetery was officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Center of Macau.
Macau was considered by the Portuguese to be sacred Roman Catholic ground and the authorities barred the burial of Protestants within its city walls, whilst on the other side of the barrier gate the Chinese were equally as intolerant of the burial of foreigners in its soil. This left the Protestant community of British, American and Northern European traders with the only option of a secret night-time burial in the land between the city walls and the barrier gate, and the risk of confrontation with Chinese should they be discovered, or worse, desecration of the grave once they had gone.
The matter was finally resolved in 1821 after the death of Robert Morrison's wife, Mary, when the local committee of the East India Company voted to purchase a plot of land and resolve its legal status with the Portuguese such that the burial of Protestants would be permitted there. Later, the East India Company allowed burial of all foreigners, and several graves were moved from other locations outside the city walls into the cemetery, explaining why some graves are dated before its founding in 1821. Nationals of Britain, the United States of America, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany are buried there.
The cemetery was closed in 1858, after which the cemetery began to be referred to as the "Old" Protestant Cemetery.
Adjoining the cemetery is the Morrison Chapel, named in honour of Robert Morrison.
Guia Fortress
The Guia Fortress (Portuguese: Fortaleza da Guia; Chinese: 東望洋炮台) is a historical military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, in China. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Macau.
The fort and chapel were constructed between 1622 and 1638, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Netherlands to capture Macau from Portugal. The lighthouse was constructed between 1864 and 1865, the first western style lighthouse in east Asia or on the China coast. The lighthouse stands at 91 meters tall, and has a light visible for some 20 miles in clear weather conditions. The complex was built upon the highest point on Macau, Guia Hill, and named after the same location. In 1998, frescoes were uncovered in the chapel during routine conservation work, representing both western and Chinese themes. Today, the site is a tourist destination.
A-Ma Temple
- Dom Pedro V Theatre
- Sir Robert Ho Tung Library
- Leal Senado
- Senado Square
- Holy House of Mercy
- St. Dominic's Church
- Na Tcha Temple
- Fortaleza do Monte
- Casa Garden
Other Sites
- Moorish Barracks
- Lilau Square
- Mandarin's House
- St. Lawrence's Church
- St. Joseph's Seminary and Church
- St. Augustine's Square
- St. Augustine's Church
- Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple)
- Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady of Macau|Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady
- Lou Kau Mansion
- City wall of Macau
- St. Anthony's Church
See also
- Religion in Macau
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Coates, Austin, A Macau Narrative
- Morrison, Robert. A Master Builder; Marshall Broomhall; China Inland Mission 1925
- Ride, Lindsay & Ride, May, An East India Company Cemetery: Protestant Burials in Macau
- Ride, Lindsay, The Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau
- The Memoir of Samuel Dyer: Sixteen Years Missionary to the Chinese by Evan Davies, John Snow, London, 1846
External links
- Official website
- Information from the website of UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Information about the Morrison Chapel (some information is out of date - see link below)
- Report on the appointment of a new clergy-in-charge at the Morrison Chapel
- Ola Macau Guide entry on the Old Protestant Cemetery
- English site for Macau Heritage
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