Wuhu Catholic Church

Wuhu Catholic Church

Wuhu Catholic Church is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Wuhu Catholic Church is located at No. 28, Jihe Street, Jinghu District, Wuhu City. In 1889, French missionaries built the Wuhu Catholic Church on Her Mountain. In 1891, the Wuhu Missionary Case broke out, and the church was burned down. Later, the Qing government compensated over 12,300 taels of silver to rebuild the church on the original site, which was completed in 1895. Additional buildings such as the bishop's residence, the Notre Dame Chapel, and the Catholic friars' building were also added. The total construction area of the four buildings is 9,731 square meters.

The Catholic Church is a Gothic-style building from medieval Europe. It faces west and is oriented east, with a brick-and-wood structure. The floor plan is cruciform, 17 meters wide, with a maximum width of 26 meters, and is 39 meters long from east to west. There are two slender and elegant spired bell towers on both sides, each about 18 meters high. The construction area is 2,043 square meters. To the south of the church is a four-story friars' building, covering an area of about 4,000 square meters.

The bishop's residence and the Notre Dame Chapel are both located at No. 19, North Jihe Road, Wuhu City, within the First People's Hospital. The bishop's residence, also known as the Bishop’s Office, was built in 1933. It is a two-story arcade-style building with a construction area of 1,612 square meters. The Notre Dame Chapel, also called the Convent, was built in 1933 by the Wuhu Catholic Church and designed and supervised by Spaniards. Its exterior wall construction method is consistent with that of the bishop's residence. It is one of the larger surviving church buildings in Wuhu, with a construction area of 4,217 square meters. The Friars’ Building is located at the top of Daguan Mountain in downtown Wuhu. Constructed in 1912, it is symmetrically arranged from east to west and has three floors including the mezzanine, with a construction area of 1,859 square meters.

Wuhu was one of the centers of Catholic activity in modern China and holds an important place in the history of Catholic development in China. Wuhu Catholic Church contains rich historical information and possesses significant historical and cultural value.

In May 2013, the State Council (State Council Document [2013] No. 13) announced Wuhu Catholic Church as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Protected Area: Outside the walls, 10 meters east to the Municipal Party School, 50 meters south to Anhui Vocational College of Mechanical and Electrical Technology, 30 meters west to South Jihe Road, and 20 meters north.

Construction Control Zone: Same as the protected area.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units