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.