Wooden churches listed as the World Heritage

Wooden churches listed as the World Heritage

[ Dec.2015 ] The main attraction in Chiloe Island in Chile is the wooden churches which are listed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage.

That was what I had heard, so I had imagined something like the ones in Romania which had a refined atmosphere.

But the ones here were different.

It may not be a nice way to say, but their designs and colours were childish.

For example, the cathedral in the main town called Castro is yellow and purple.

The inside the cathedral was nice and quiet, though.

I saw an old couple came in and touched each statue and prayed.

But these statues were a bit strange, too.

They are more like shop mannequins some of which were wearing woollen baby clothes and there was a Christ with blood on his face.

16 churches on the island are listed with World Heritage and we saw 5 of them.

They were built by missionaries of Society of Jesus in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Not only churches, but many of the residential houses were made of wood.

Especially the the traditional ones, made of larches, whose wall looked like scales. Even these traditional houses were brightly coloured.