In 1922, the Catholic church established the Apostolic Vicariate of Suiyuan. The construction of the Sacred Heart Cathedral began in the same year. In 1924, the bishop's seat was moved from Ershisiqingdi [zh] to the current cathedral.[3][4] The construction cost 50,000 silver pieces. In 1938, the body of Louis van Dyck, former bishop of Suiyuan, was reburied at the cathedral.[3]
The cathedral's architectural style is a hybrid between Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival.[3] It faces west and has a floor area of around 600 square metres (6,500 sq ft). The front façade is 25 metres (82 ft) tall and 20 metres (66 ft) wide.[4] The cathedral was planned to have two bell towers, but only the northern one was built due to the lack of materials. The bell tower is 30 metres (98 ft) tall.[6] It once contained two bronze bells made in Europe in 1924,[7] but one of the bells was later lost.[8]
The episcopal residence is at the northeast of the cathedral. It was built after the cathedral in Neoclassical style. In 1934, another building was completed to the west of the episcopal residence.[7] An orphanage was built to the east of the cathedral.[7][3] Currently, the episcopal residence is used by the Catholic Seminary of Inner Mongolia,[7] and the orphanage is used as private residence.[8]
^第七批全国重点文物保护单位名单 [The Seventh Group of Major Cultural Heritage Sites under National-Level Protection] (PDF). State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-05-12.
Fang, Xuyan (2004). 呼和浩特基督教文化建筑考察与研究 [Investigation and Study on Architecture of the Christian Religion Culture in Inner Mongolia] (MA thesis). Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology.
Hao, Qianru (2005). 呼和浩特与包头市近代建筑的保护 [Study on Protection and Reuse of Recent Buildings in Hohhot and Baotou] (MA thesis). Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology.
Books chapters
Office of Compiling the History of Huimin District, Hohhot (呼和浩特市回民区志编纂办公室) (1996). 宗教·天主教 [Religion: The Catholic Church]. 呼和浩特市回民区志 [The History of Huimin District, Hohhot]. pp. 453–455.