Malacca's red landmark
The city's best-known facade.
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The red building at the front of most photographs of Malacca stands in Dutch Square beside the Stadthuys and the clock tower. The Dutch built it between 1741 and 1753 to mark a hundred years since they took the city from the Portuguese, and it is now the oldest Protestant church still in use in Malaysia. It passed to the Church of England after Malacca came under British rule and was reconsecrated in 1838 under its present name. Its walls were originally white; it and the neighbouring buildings were painted red in 1911, and that colour has since become the mark of Dutch Malacca as a whole. The building is plain in the Dutch manner: a single hall with thick walls, few windows and a roof carried on massive timber beams, with old wooden pews and Dutch and English gravestones set into the floor. Entry is free, it is usually open to visitors in the daytime, and it is best to avoid service times. It sits at the heart of the historic area on the World Heritage list, so from here you can climb St Paul's Hill, cross the bridge to Jonker Street or take a river boat. The square fills with brightly decorated flower trishaws, so come early in the morning for quieter photographs.
The city's best-known facade.
An 18th-century Dutch roof.
Old Dutch and English tombs.
Dutch Square, Jalan Gereja, old Malacca town centre
Stadthuys and Dutch SquareEverything around you is red: the Stadthuys, completed by the Dutch around 1650 1 minute walk4.5
Jonker Street Night MarketEvery Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening Jonker Street closes to cars and turns1 minute walk4.4
Cheng Ho Cultural MuseumA museum about the life of Admiral Zheng He, the Ming dynasty's Muslim naval com2 minutes walk
St Paul's ChurchThe roofless ruin of a church on top of the hill overlooking old Malacca and the2 minutes walk4.5
Church of St Francis XavierA twin-towered neo-Gothic Catholic church overlooking the Malacca River a few mi2 minutes walkThey were white in Dutch times and were painted red in 1911 under British rule; they are still painted that colour today, and it has become the signature of Dutch Malacca.
Yes. Entry is free and it is usually open to visitors in the daytime, but sightseers are not admitted during services, especially on Sunday mornings.