It is said that St. Paul's hill was previously known as Malacca Hill by the locals before it was renamed Monti Ali Maria or Mary's Hill by the Portuguese who had developed the place. St. Paul's started out as a little chapel dedicated to Virgin Mary, which later extended into a church with the addition of a second floor and a belfry tower. The place, now no longer what it used to be, was deconsecrated with the building of a new place of worship, that is, Christ Church under the Dutch rule and underwent several modifications to be strengthened as part of a fort.
Next to the ruins is a statue of St. Francis Xavier; he is said to have established a school in these premises. The hand on the statue was severed when a Casuarina tree fell on it.
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| Left : St. Paul's Church and A White Belfry Tower Right : A Statue Of St. Francis Xavier |
The building has no roof in a large part of its area. It is designed with many arched windows and entrances. I imagine the church to be bright and airy in its heyday. This place is a tourist hot spot, as you can see from pictures below. There are buskers and stalls right outside the building adding liveliness to an otherwise solemn spot.
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| Inside the Ruins of St. Paul's Church, Melaka |
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| St. Paul's Church, Melaka |
Intriguing Dutch tombstones are lined against the old walls. I wondered about the people who once walked here, how they dressed and lived, what 'routine' was for them.
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| The Dutch Tombstones of St. Paul's Church |
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| The Dutch Tombstones of St. Paul's Church |
More pictures of St. Paul's church on my way up the hill that sunny day. We enjoyed touring this place. It gave us a nice view of surrounding areas too.
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| View of St. Paul's Church nearing the top |
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| Beautiful St. Paul's Hill, Melaka |
Finally, this shot of Aldy Hotel just to show you how close the hotel is.
The best time to visit would be early in the morning before the humidity sets in. Entrance is free.
St. Paul's Church
Address: Jalan Kota, Bandar Hilir, 75000 Melaka, Malaysia
Been to the ruins before but that was a long time ago. I hope to remember the hotel in case we need to stay there. Have a beautiful day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy! Do you think you will go again? I quite enjoyed it so I may ;)
DeleteBeautiful photos, Sharon!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. The sunny weather helped ;)
DeleteRemember I passed by this place. Did not visited it. Hope to go to Melaka again. Been in my family to-visit place list. ^^
ReplyDeleteI gave this place a miss on my first few trips too. Melaka has so much to offer in terms of tourism. Hard to fit everything in if visiting only for a couple of days. ^.^
DeleteThis is the most happening vicinity of Melaka. I love this quaint town that keeps improving and adding new attractions like the admiral Zheng He Museum. This Ruins of St.Paul here is more interesting than the wall in Macau. That place was spooky.
ReplyDeleteI agree - Melaka has an amazing town. So much culture and liveliness :D I have yet to visit admiral Zheng He Museum ...soon, I will soon now that you have mentioned it!
DeleteI have only seen the Macau wall in pictures ;P
Oh yes, been to this place a few times! Makes me wanna revisit......... xoxo
ReplyDeleteHigh-5, Shirley! It is one of the more beautiful spots in Melaka. I love the view from up here.
DeleteI would visit this place over and over again. Malacca is the place with many historical foot prints.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I can never get enough of the place. So much history and liveliness.
DeleteMelaka is a nice place to visit. Nowadays more and more museum opened for visitors. I think there are like 10 museums nearby that area. One needs to spend 2 days to really walk and see all the artifacts in the museum with description
ReplyDeleteI believe I have yet to cover even half of the museums after so many trips down ..haha!
Deletehahaha.... lastime climb up there till sesak nafas coz that day was a very hot day
ReplyDeleteMe too ..so hotlah. I realised only later that there's an easier path, not so steep from the other end...haha!
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