Joanna James
While Singapore is known for its sprawling green spaces and modern marvels, the city-state also has its own storied past represented through various historical and cultural attractions. Whether you’re in Sentosa to the south, Kranji in the north, or anywhere towards the east or west, there are plenty of places to visit to explore Singapore’s rich history.
The cathedral’s original structure was first given a plot in the 1822 Town Plan of Sir Stamford Raffles and was built in 1836. Originally built as a church with an 80-centimetre copper Revere Bell, the Cathedral which replaced it now serves as the ‘mother church’ of over 20 parishes and 50 congregations across Singapore. The church’s former bell is now preserved in the National Museum and symbolises the friendship between the United States and Singapore. The Cathedral bears the name of the Patron Saint of Scotland and thereby honours the Scottish community in Singapore that helped finance its construction.
Located on Stamford Road, the National Museum boasts a history of 170 years and has held its current location since 1887. It was further developed in the 20th century with several other extensions carried out across various decades. One of the building’s most iconic displays was a 13-metre-long blue whale skeleton that hung from the ceiling until 1969. More renovations that took place in the early 2000s saw the construction of a glass-clad rotunda inspired by IM Pei, a famous architect known for his design of the glass pyramid at the Louvre. The museum also hosts 11 precious artefacts such as the Singapore Stone, and an inscribed rock slab discovered in the Singapore River. The exteriors of the building feature intricate unicorn sculptures as a reference to Scotland whose national animal is the unicorn.
Lau Pa Sat is a bustling hawker centre, located close to Hotel Mi Bencoolen that has a long history through several years of renovation and change. It started out as a small fish market in 1824 with today’s current structure being put up in 1984 with prefabricated cast iron much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is currently known as one of the oldest Victorian structures in Southeast Asia. When Singapore became a commercial district in the 60s and 70s the structure was transformed into a hawker centre. Subsequently, the cast-iron structure was entirely dismantled and put back together in 1989 at which time it reacquired the name Lau Pa Sat.
The Sultan Mosque is instantly recognisable because of its massive golden domes that gleam in the sunlight. The current structure dates to 1932 when it was built in place of an existing mosque to house the country’s growing community of Muslims. The building underwent more renovations and improvements from 2014 to 2016 which also saw new elevators included for the elderly. If you are staying at any of the best family hotels in Singapore during Ramadan, visiting the mosque during this time makes for a good choice with plenty of food stalls and night markets around to enjoy.
This is Singapore’s most famous and oldest Hokkien Temple, which first started as a modest ‘joss house’ in 1821. The temple was built in honour of Mazu, the Guardian of Sojourners with Chinese immigrants paying their respects in order to have a safe journey. The building’s first major restoration project took place between 1998 and 2000 and the work was given a prestigious UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage 2001 Award for “Cultural Heritage Conservation”. The temple features several dragon motifs, coloured tiles, stone lions and lacquered wood.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
