After a great Pinoy lunch at Barbara's, we headed to visit a prominent landmark of Intramuros - the San Agustin Church or the Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción de María de San Agustín. San Agustin was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, alongwith three other Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period, under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines.
Ornately carved door...
The first church on this site was constructed by the Spaniards in 1571 and was incidentally the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards in Luzon. It was a rather simple structure made of bamboo and nipa, but it was destroyed by fire in December 1574 when Chinese pirates invaded Manila.
A second church, again made of wood was constructed on the site. This structure was destroyed in February 1583, by a fire that started when a candle set ablaze the drapes during the interment of the Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa.
To ensure durability of the structure, the Augustinians rebuilt the church with stone. Construction began in 1586, using hewn adobe stones quarried from Meycauayan, Binangonan and San Mateo, Rizal. The work was slow due to the lack of skilled labour, funds and materials. The church-monastery complex was operational by 1604.
San Agustin Church was looted during the British occupation of Manila in 1762. In 1854, the church was renovated, But in 1863 and 1880, earthquakes hit Manila leaving widespread destruction to the city with San Agustin Church, the only public building left relatively undamaged. In 1880, however, the tremors left a huge crack on the left bell tower of the church. The crack was repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed which makes the church a bit distinctive - it has only one bell tower, the one on the right.
On August 18, 1898, the church was where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States following the Spanish–American War.
During the Second World War, the Japanese turned the San Agustin Church into a concentration camp for prisoners. In the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers during the three-week-long battle.
The church itself survived the devastation that Intramuros saw when the combined American and Filipino ground forces regained control of the city in May 1945. The adjoining monastery however was totally destroyed, and was rebuilt in the 1970s as a museum.
Lovely stained glass murals...
Visiting the museum of the Saint Agustin monastery...
Trans-Pacific trade routes opened up by the Spanish...
Model of a ship that used to ply between the Philippines and Mexico...
Pottery from China and spices were major exports to the New World...
A display of fruits and vegetables native to the Americas that were brought here by the Spaniards...
A holy book...
The pioneers - the clergy was an integral part of the colonial strategy to occupy...
Depictions of the arrival of the colonists...
The central courtyard...
The walkways within the monastery are kind of eerie...
The Retablo of Juan De Los Santos - the main mantlepiece of the altar. Several gilded statues from the piece were stolen by the British...
Heraldry of the clergy...
A monument to the 140 priests who were killed by the Japanese during the Second World War...
The priests developed botanical gardens here...
Indeed this is a beautiful structure...
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