In the heart of the Quiapo district of Manila is the San Sebastian Church, also officially known as the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian. This minor basilica has the distinction of being the only all-steel church in Asia.

The church was originally a wooden structure which was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. Finally in the late 1880’s, a plan was proposed to build an all-steel fire- and earthquake-resistant church. The design was done by Gustave Eiffel (the creator of the Eiffel Tower), and the church was manufactured in Belgium, knocked down into pieces (like the Statue of Liberty, another of Eiffel’s creations), then transported to Manila, where it was reconstructed. Finally, in 1891, the new San Sebastian Church was inaugurated.

The basilica is done in the Gothic revival architectural style. In addition, San Sebastian Church has been included into the list of canidates for inclusion into UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, which includes the previously featured Paoay Church and Tubbataha Reef.

Read more about this magnificent church over at Wikipedia.

Download KML file (for Google Earth)