St. Paul Church

St. Paul Church is the oldest church building in Southeast Asia. It was built in 1521 by a Portuguese nobleman named Duarte Coelho.

27 years after Duarte Coelho built the church, Don Albuquerque, Archbishop of Goa handed over church’s management to St. Francis Xavier, who is one of the Catholic Christian missionaries pioneers in Southeast Asia.

The church is located at the top of St. Paul Hill. Today, the church is part of the Malacca Museum Complex that comprises the ruins of A Famosa, The Stadthuys and other historic buildings.

The marble statue of St.Francis Xavier was built in 1952 to commemorate the 400th years anniversary of his stay in Melaka. A day after the statue was erected, a large tree branch fell on the statue’s right arm and caused the said arm to be separated from the body. Interestingly, St. Francis Xaviar also lost his right hand when he was alive. The statue was left without right arm until now.

Image by: Ashwin Chandrasekaran

Operating Hours

Daily – 24 Hours

Admission

There is no entrance fee.

Location

Jalan Kota, Bandar Hilir, 75000 Melaka, Malaysia.

View map.

Hear From Others

Made of laterite brickstones found around Melaka, don’t be deceived by the supposedly boring structure that has a history of over 500 years.

CavinTeo

We came here while we were fresh and still had a lot of energy. There’s some climbing involved to get to the top, but it’s worth all the steps up the concrete stairs. On top, we found the old St. Paul’s Church (or what’s left of it). It was built as a chapel by a Portuguese nobleman in 1521, which makes it the oldest church not only in Malaysia, but also in Southeast Asia. It is now a historical landmark where you can still see some artifacts in the church interior.

VAN ALCAZAR
ErikaWithAK

To get to St Paul’s church you must first climb the stairs up St Paul’s Hill, it’s not far but the weather will probably be hot so take some water. From the top of St Paul’s Hill you get a wonderful view of the old city of Melaka and the Malacca Strait sea.

James
OnlyByLand

Nearby Attractions

Maritime Museum

Source: CEphoto

The Maritime Museum is located nearbyThe Stadhuys. It was a replica of the Portuguese ship called Flor de la Mar which sunk in the middle of the ocean on the way to Portugal while carrying the loots they rob from Melaka empire.

Melaka Zoo

Source: Zoo Melaka

The Melaka zoo is Malaysia’s second largest and houses more than 1200 animals from 215 different species. The main attractions of the Zoo are the Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Asian Elephants. Both species are almost facing extinction.

Klebang Beach

Source: Maznah Abdullatiff

Klebang Beach is one of the most famous beaches in Melaka. It is an artificial beach designed to resemble the shape of a lagoon. The beach also has a unique and a relatively popular desert area that is popular among the photographers.