Carlo Sarion

3.00 Philippines | New Zealand - 14-Feb-23 -

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas is inscribed based primarily on the outstanding works of Baroque art it contains and how it represents a period in religious architecture in Latin America. The church and the stairway may also be reminiscent of the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, Portugal. Highlights of the site are the 12 statues of the prophets and the 6 chapels that contain depictions of Christ’s passion. As previous reviews have already written about these, I will focus on the interior of the church and the Sala dos Milagres.

1. The interior of the church – the church was open at the time of my visit, although police officers curiously guarded its main doors. A crucifix is at the center of the high altar, which is beautifully decorated with gilded carvings and statuaries. Framed religious paintings showing some of the events in the life of Mary and Jesus adorn the walls of the church nave. At the anterior end of the nave there are two elaborate altarpieces containing rather small statues. The ceiling seems to be made of wood panels and is likewise boldly painted. 
2. Sala dos Milagres – the “Miracle Room” is a small museum on the left side of the church. It exhibits votive offerings (ex-votos) from devotees who wanted to express their gratitude for the blessings or answered prayers they have received (especially among the sick), though I also noticed prayer letters and offerings. This is quite a historically insightful museum, as it showed photos of people who have offered votives since the 18th century, illustrations of daily life at the time, and the evolution of votives in terms of its art—from drawings and small paintings to B&W and even digital photographs.

There is also the Museu do Congonhas located at the base of the site. I did not bother visiting the museum, although in retrospect I should have gone.

I agree with Christravelblog that the site is more unique than it is grand, and is worth visiting if you happen to find yourself in Belo Horizonte. Heaps of buses leave Belo Horizonte for Congonhas, although the bus station in Congonhas is about 3 km from the site. Renting a car is ideal as suggested by some of the reviewers, although taking public transportation has its advantages.

Wojciech Fedoruk

2.50 Poland - 21-Jan-21 -

Site visited in November 2020. Unlike other reviewers, we had a car, so getting there and away was not a problem at all. This is preferable means of transport if you want to enjoy the marvels of Minas Gerais (probably the most interesting in Brazil) without spending too many days there. There are many beautiful colonial towns in short distance, such as Tiradentes, Mariana, Sabara or Ouro Preto. There are also many natural parks nearby, such as Serra do Cipo or Serra do Gandarela. Congonhas itself is not that interesting, but has a decent hotel base.

The sanctuary towers over the city so even without GPS it is very easy to find. As almost everywhere in Brazil, parking is not a problem – free spots are just behind the church, near convent buildings.

Because of the pandemic, the church, like most of other Brazilian churches, is open only for masses, so we were not able to get in. More painful was that the famous sculptures of prophets are inside the closed church area, so we were only able to have a close look from behind the gate.

Fortunately, all the chapels with the scenes of the passion of Christ situated on the hill were open and our visit was satisfactory.

According to the legend, the sculptures of the prophets and several figures in the chapels were made by Aleijadinho, a genius sculptor who, suffering from a serious illness, reportedly had no fingers or toes during the work. However, none of the previous reviewers noticed that there have been recent debates as to whether Aleijadinho even existed, let alone whether he was actually affected by the disabilities in question. Indeed, it seems almost impossible to carve such masterpieces with broken hands, and I personally feel that this is part of the legend. But even without this story, Congonhas is is an interesting site, worth visiting not only by WHS lovers.

Kelly Henry

3.50 USA - 10-Jul-19 -

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Congonhas is located just 90 minutes south of Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.  The dusty town of Congonhas has absolutely nothing else of tourist value so this site is best visited as a side trip from Belo Horizonte or Ouro Preto.  The roads in this area are excellent thanks to all the iron ore mine trucks and rental cars are super cheap so I recommend a self-drive and doing the 4 World Heritage sites of Minas Gerais beginning in Belo Horizonte. Parking is sometimes a challenge here but try to park directly behind the Sanctuary.  Fortunately, the site is well marked once you get to Congonhas.    

I have nothing to add to the other site reports however if you smile and mumble a few words of Portuguese, the workers will usually let you slip into the Sanctuary although it is mostly covered in plastic.  Otherwise, enjoy the amazing soapstone statues of The Prophets that would be right at home in any European Basilica and take time to visit the little chapels with lifelike, full size carvings of scenes form the passion of Christ.  

Christravelblog

3.50 Netherlands - 01-Mar-19 -

Congonhas as a city is boring and dirty but the basilica, the statues and cedarwood carvings are amongst the most beautiful I have seen. I visited as a (partial) day trip from Belo Horizonte; a great hub to tick off 4 or 5 WHS. A visit doesn’t take long, maybe 3-4 hours including the two museums. Do check opening times! In 2018 the basilica was still under reconstruction so visiting inside wasn’t possible. I was allowed for a peak in side, but it was full of equipment for restoring.

The cedarwood carvings representing the stations of the cross are truly magnificent. I really enjoyed them. lots of details and nice colors although a bit dusty. The 12 prophets made from soapstone are also very detailed. Museums were closed unfortunately but the rosaria I could have a look around although not inside.

A WHS I highly recommend visiting. Not because it’s huge but because it’s unique.

Read more from Christravelblog here.

Ammon Watkins

3.00 Canada - 23-Nov-18 -

Visited in Nov 2018 as a day trip from Belo Horizonte. Due to disappointingly frustrating bus connections to the other neighbouring towns, this is the best way to visit. There are buses almost hourly throughout the day to BH though.

With that in mind, it is worth the trip out. The church is nice, but The Prophets are fantastic and really set the site apart. The best approach is to come up the steep hill on foot, passing the chapels and building up to the Prophets above to get the full effect of their majesty and power and overall setting as it was intended.

Unfortunately there isn't much else in Congonhas worth lingering for so make sure you have an exit strategy, however you arrive.

Solivagant

2.00 UK - 09-Jul-05 -

Conghonas is a rather unusual WHS. I think it is true to say that there are no other (?) cultural WHS whose design and “manufacture” can be identified as the work a single named individual. The nearest which come to my mind are buildings by architects such as Horta and Rietveld Schroder and they clearly didn’t do the construction as well! (Similarly with Michelangelo’s role at the Vatican!) Recognition and preservation of the World’s “Fine Art” has not been dealt with by UNESCO under the Cultural Heritage banner which requires that such heritage be “sited” whereas much of such art is movable and therefore excluded. Yet, although the Basilica of Bom Jesus at Conghonas is technically inscribed as a complete building in its own right as well as for 2 associated works of art, it is for those works of art by one man, “Aleijadinho” that it is primarily recognised (In the case of the second work he did have the help of a few assistants/pupils as has often been traditional with large religious works),.

The 2 works are

a. The “12 Prophets” carved in stone and set on the terrace outside the Basilica which is situated on a hill on the outskirts of the town

b. The “Passion of Christ” – over 60 figures carved in wood and set as tableaux in 6 chapels near the Basilica

The story of Aleijadinho is the stuff of legend. The son of a black slave and unable to use his arms or legs after contracting leprosy in his youth he somehow learned how to sculpt with a hammer and chisel strapped to his arms. The “Prophets” were created at the start of the 19th century when he was already well into his 70s. They are no doubt recognised as artefacts of “outstanding universal value” not just for their intrinsic artistic value but as representatives of the development of Baroque art in Latin America.

Congonhas itself is a rather ugly and uninteresting town – do not confuse it with other wonderful “colonial” towns in Minas Gerais (2 of which are WHS and others of which could justifiably be!). As you only need a couple of hours for the site the essence of planning a visit to Conghonas is to arrange to get in and out on the same day e.g. on a trip to or from Ouro Preto. It is worth remembering also that the churches in a number of the more attractive nearby colonial towns such as Tiradentes and Mariana also contain work by Aleijadinho.

On that basis, it is in my view worth making the detour to Congonhas even if you are not a great aficionado of baroque art. The Brazilians regard him very highly and to see and appreciate his works is to take a step along the way of understanding the development of a separate Latin American and particularly Brazilian culture.

Els Slots

3.50 The Netherlands - 06-Oct-04 -

This review could be titled "Getting there and away". Getting there was much easier than I thought beforehand: there's one direct daily bus at 7 am from Ouro Preto. Getting away proved much more difficult: taxis and buses are very scarce in the surroundings of the Basilica to take you away. As are buses back to Ouro Preto - I eventually got there again after a 3 hour's wait in the village of Ouro Branco.

The church and the chapels are extremely picturesque. Set on a steep hill, towering above the humble buildings in the neighbourhood. A clear blue sky as its background. The statues of the prophets are unique pieces, each with its own pose and character. It's good to just sit here and awe.

Unfortunately, you cannot get in at the moment: there are restoration works going on inside the church and some of the chapels. I'm sorry to have missed the rococo interior of the church.