NINH BÌNH — In addition to the Phát Diệm stone cathedral, the ancient capital of Hoa Lư, the Tràng An tourism site and Bái Đính Pagoda, Châu Sơn Abbey  attracts thousands of visitors to Phú Sơn Commune in Nho Quan District in the northern province of Ninh Bình.

On the road that leads to Cúc Phương National Forest, Châu Sơn Abbey near Hà Nội is a unique architectural structure built entirely by the talented hands and ardent love of its priests.

According to the abbey’s records, this austere religious cathedral was built in 1939 and completed in 1945 without any modern machinery or cement pillars.

Without models or blueprints, each feature and every brick gradually took shape through the priests’ intellect and imagination.

Striking and imposing, yet charming, the structure was designed in the Gothic architectural style, mainly with unplastered red bricks.

For over six decades, it has been enshrouded in a forest of massive old trees.The efforts and talents of several dozen priests and local artists who baked the bricks and completed the construction have stood the test of time.