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‘Chicken Church’: the curious history of Indonesia’s Gereja Ayam
Gereja Ayam, known as Indonesia’s “Chicken Church”, is an unusual bird-shaped building in Central Java that has become a distinctive visitor attraction. Its story matters because the structure was intended as an inclusive place for worship and reflection, rather than simply an eccentric church, and its later revival shows how an abandoned project can acquire cultural and tourism value.
The building was commissioned by Christian businessman Daniel Alamsjah after he said he experienced a religious vision in the late 1980s; construction began in 1992. Although widely seen as a chicken, it was intended to resemble a dove, and work stopped in 2000 because funding ran out, leaving it incomplete for years before renewed public interest helped bring visitors.
In short
- Indonesia’s “Chicken Church” was intended as an interfaith prayer house.
- Construction began in 1992 and stopped in 2000.
- The supposed chicken was designed to resemble a dove.
Explained simply
In the late 1980s, Christian businessman Daniel Alamsjah said he had a religious vision that led him to plan a place for worship and reflection in Central Java. Construction began in 1992 on a building shaped like a bird, which Alamsjah intended to be a dove.
Many people thought it looked like a chicken, giving it the nickname “Chicken Church”. Work stopped in 2000 when money ran out, and the unfinished building stood unused for years.
The project was intended as an inclusive place for people to pray or reflect, rather than only as a conventional church. Its later popularity with visitors has given the unusual structure a new role as a local attraction.