Bandaneira Church, Maluku Islands, Indonesia

4.0 (25 reviews) Spent Ranking #4 in Banda Neira Churches & Cathedrals

Beautiful little piece of history

We walked up to the doors only to find them locked. We weren't there for more than 10 seconds when a young man from the Naval compound across the street ran over asking us if we wanted to look in. You can read and see the descriptions in other reviews as they're all quite accurate. If you're interested in history, it's worth reading up on this building and seeing the old reliefs engraved in the floor. We had the privilege of attending a church service on Good Friday. We found out that the Naval man with the keys as well as two ladies who showed up were all three a part of the clergy. They're extremely welcoming and although they speak very little English, they were clearly happy to have visitors and we enjoyed our time with the small group of Christians.

Address

, Indonesia.

Website

http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/616284

Current local date and time now

Friday, May 10, 2024, 21:17

User Ratings

4.0 based on (25 reviews)

Excellent
28%
Good
56%
Satisfactory
16%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%

Reviews

  • 4FatimahRamadhani 5:00 PM Apr 24, 2017
    Old Church
    unique church with great architecture. It had unique interior in their wall and floor. Located near traditional market of banda neira.
  • 4FarAway728900 5:00 PM Oct 3, 2017
    Sweet, odd, open odd hours
    Amazingly deep relief carvings of birds trees, and coats of arms adorn the granite gravestones of Dutch people which form much of the floor. Quite impressive given the dates, all in the first half of the 1700s. When we visited, the man who introduced himself as guardian and caretaker said the church is in use, and indeed there was a pulpit and rows of chairs. There's also one limestone grave marker carved in Latin rather than Dutch, outside under the portico, and a VOC emblem on the threshold. Unfortunately our mutual language limitations kept us from learning much from the caretaker. We have learned that the rooster instead of a cross on a church is a traditional European symbol dating back centuries now used primarily by Protestant churches.

See also