So far, no one has been able to explain why this structure can stand for hundreds of years without any support. The carpenter only used wooden pegs to secure the steps together. ![]() Stairs are hammered and stand there without any nails or glue, and without the need for a central axis or horizontal beam as a support. The staircase of Loretto church is about 6 m high, has only 33 steps but twists to 2 complete 360-degree turns. Rochas is a French carpenter who came to the US only because he wanted to build a staircase for the church in Santa Fe with wood imported from his home country of France. According to the historian, she found a line in the books of the nuns in 1881 whereby they paid for wood for a man named Rochas. Monastery and Santa Fe Chapel”, published in 1984. She collected all kinds of data to prove the possible identity of the mysterious carpenter, writing a book titled: “Loretto: The Seven Sisters and Their Santa Fe Chapel”. Straw Cook spent 7 years researching the staircase in Santa Fe. The wood used for the stairs is also not native.Īccording to another theory, female historian Mary J. No one knows the carpenter’s identity and where he got the wood from.Īccording to the story, when the nuns contacted local timber traders in the hope of finding out the whereabouts of the mysterious carpenter, no one provided any possible information. As soon as the stairs were completed, the mysterious carpenter quickly disappeared without regard to the remuneration. The strange thing is that this person asked to be alone in the chapel for 3 months, and with only simple tools including a saw, triangle and hammer.įor 3 months, the stranger locked himself inside the chapel and no one knew what he did, how to complete the wooden staircase. The church owners sought advice from local carpenters, but none could provide a viable solution.Īccording to anecdote, while church owners were struggling to find a way to fix faulty architectural drawings, a man came and offered to carry out the construction of a staircase to the 2nd floor choir. Finally, the builder advised to demolish the choir’s guard post. Building a traditional staircase is also difficult to do because the church is too small to have enough space. ![]() The situation was made more difficult when the architect Antonio Mouly passed away. That is, the original design was faulty when not designing this staircase. When the church was completed, the team of builders discovered that it was impossible to climb from the nave of the cathedral to the choir seats on the second floor. Loretto Church, where the mysterious staircase is located Despite its smaller scale, Loretto still has some typical architectural features like Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The highlight of the church is the magical spiral staircase that does not use nails or glue, but has an extraordinary bearing structure.īuilt in 1878 with materials imported from France, the church is designed in the Gothic Revival style (also known as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick), the work of the French architect, Antoine Mouly. Loretto Church at 207 Old Santa Fe Trail in the state of New Mexico in the southwestern United States, is a destination attracting millions of tourists.
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