Cagsawa Ruins
Cagsawa Ruins
The Cagsawa Ruins (also spelled as Kagsawa or Cagsaua) are the remnants of a 16th-century Franciscan church, the Cagsawa church. It was originally built in the town of Cagsawa in 1587 but was burned down by Dutch pirates in 1636. It was rebuilt in 1724 by Fr. Francisco Blanco, but was destroyed again, along with the town of Cagsawa, on February 1, 1814, during the eruption of the Mayon Volcano.
The ruins are currently located in Barangay Busay, Cagsawa, in the municipality of Daraga, Albay, Philippines. It is part of Cagsawa Park, is protected and maintained by the municipal government of Daraga and the National Museum of the Philippines, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area. The Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin, one of the world’s top travel trade shows based in Berlin, has even recognized the site as one of the places to visit in Asia.
Only the church tower remains of the Cagsawa Church, which was destroyed by the 1814 eruption of Mayon Volcano.
The Cagsawa ruins are located 2.2 km (1.4 mi) from the town of Daraga and are approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city of Legazpi. They are also 3.3 km (2.1 mi) from the Legazpi Airport and a 55-minute flight from Manila. By bus, the location is 12 to 14 hours away from Manila.
It is considered symbolic of the dangers of living in close proximity with Mt. Mayon, as it is situated roughly 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) away from the volcano.
The baroque church of Cagsawa was originally built in 1587 in the small town of Cagsawa (spelled as Cagsaua during the Hispanic era in the Philippines). But it was burned down by Dutch pirates in 1636. In 1724, the church was rebuilt by Franciscan friars under Father Francisco Blanco.
On February 1, 1814, the strongest eruption recorded to date of the Mayon volcano buried the town of Cagsawa and its surrounding areas under several hundred million cubic meters of tephra and lahar. killing an estimated 2,000 people. Hundreds of inhabitants of the town of Cagsawa purportedly sought refuge in the church, but were also killed by pyroclastic flows and lahar. Only the belfry and some parts of the convent survive today, though parts of the crumbling facade were still standing long after the 1814 eruption as attested by photographs. It is believed that the facade of the structure collapsed due to earthquakes that hit the area in the 1950s.
Survivors of the 1814 eruption resettled into the nearby Daraga, which was then a mere barrio of the destroyed town of Cagsawa, and decided to merge the two. However, the Cagsawa church should not be confused with the intact church of Nuestra Señora de la Porteria (locally known as the Daraga Church), built in 1773 and also located in the municipality of Daraga.
Cagsawa was also subjected to the Super Typhoon Durian (designated Typhoon Reming by PAGASA) in 2006. The ruins were unharmed even as the typhoon devastated the surrounding countryside with mudslides and lahar that killed at least 1,266 people. The incident is similar to another catastrophe in the same region in 1825, shortly after the 1814 Mayon eruption.
An old photograph of the Cagsawa ruins with the façade still standing. The church was largely destroyed during the 1814 eruption of Mayon. Only the bell tower exists today.
The church tower is what remains of the Cagsawa Church, which was damaged by the 1814 eruption of Mayon. It withstood the damage done by Typhoon Durian (Reming) in 2006.
The most destructive eruption of Mayon occurred on February 1, 1814. Lava flowed but less than the 1766 eruption. The volcano belched dark ash and eventually bombarded the town of Cagsawa with tephra that buried it. Trees burned, and rivers were certainly damaged. Proximate areas were also devastated by the eruption, with ash accumulating to in depth. In Cagsawa, 1,200 locals perished in what is considered to be the most lethal eruption in Mayon's history according to PHIVOLCS. The eruption is believed to have contributed to the accumulation of atmospheric ash together with the catastrophic 1815 eruption of other volcanoes like Indonesia's Mount Tambora, leading to the Year Without a Summer in 1816.
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