How to build Ruined Portal Shrine in Minecraft

An ancient shrine half-swallowed by the Nether. A two-tier stone brick platform, cracked and mossy, holds a big portal frame glowing purple. Netherrack spills from its base across the steps and into the grass, with fires burning on it and blocks of gold scattered through the rubble. Broken pillars stand at the corners, one has toppled over, and a loot chest waits beside the portal. It is a great way to dress up the first nether portal you ever build.

Open the interactive 3D plan above to build it one layer at a time: every layer has a numbered top-down plan, a block list and full-screen step-by-step instructions you can tick off as you go. You can also download it for Litematica, WorldEdit or Minecraft Bedrock, or view it in your room in AR.

Materials list

BlockAmountStacks
Dirt3846 stacks
Grass Block3174 stacks + 61
Red Terracotta881 stack + 24
Stone Bricks811 stack + 17
Cracked Stone Bricks21
Moss Block18
Black Concrete17
Mossy Stone Bricks17
Gravel16
Magenta Stained Glass15
Purple Stained Glass10
Stone Brick Stairs10
Orange Terracotta9
Stone Brick Slab9
Chiseled Stone Bricks8
Fire8
Polished Blackstone6
Block of Gold4
Cobblestone Slab2
Lantern2
Mossy Cobblestone2
Chest1
Cobblestone1
Cobblestone Stairs1

Building tips

  1. Gather first: about 2 stacks of stone bricks (smelt cobblestone into stone, then craft), a stack of cobblestone, and 10 obsidian for the frame. Obsidian forms when water hits a lava source; mine it with a diamond pickaxe.
  2. You only need the 10 frame blocks without corners to light a portal. Leaving corners missing is free and looks properly ruined.
  3. Mix cracked and mossy stone bricks into the platform at random, roughly one in four. Make cracked bricks by smelting stone bricks, and mossy ones with vines or moss.
  4. The red spill is netherrack. Break it up with a few blocks of magma and leave the edge ragged so it looks like it is creeping into the grass, not painted on.
  5. Netherrack burns forever once lit, so it is perfect for the fires. Keep them away from the wooden chest and anything else that can catch.
  6. Mobs spawn on dark stone at night: the portal, the fires and a couple of lanterns on the pillars light most of it, and a torch tucked behind each pillar does the rest.

Step-by-step: all 11 layers

  1. Layer 1 Dirt ×384
  2. Layer 2 Grass Block ×317, Red Terracotta ×29, Moss Block ×18, Gravel ×16, Orange Terracotta ×4
  3. Layer 3 Stone Bricks ×52, Red Terracotta ×28, Cracked Stone Bricks ×16, Mossy Stone Bricks ×10, Chiseled Stone Bricks ×7, Stone Brick Stairs ×4, Orange Terracotta ×3, Block of Gold ×2, Cobblestone Slab ×2, Fire ×2, Mossy Cobblestone ×2, Cobblestone ×1, Cobblestone Stairs ×1, Stone Brick Slab ×1
  4. Layer 4 Red Terracotta ×30, Stone Bricks ×12, Stone Brick Stairs ×5, Mossy Stone Bricks ×4, Cracked Stone Bricks ×3, Stone Brick Slab ×3, Orange Terracotta ×2, Fire ×1
  5. Layer 5 Black Concrete ×7, Stone Bricks ×5, Fire ×4, Polished Blackstone ×2, Block of Gold ×1, Chest ×1, Cracked Stone Bricks ×1, Lantern ×1, Mossy Stone Bricks ×1, Red Terracotta ×1, Stone Brick Slab ×1
  6. Layer 6 Stone Bricks ×6, Magenta Stained Glass ×4, Black Concrete ×1, Block of Gold ×1, Fire ×1, Polished Blackstone ×1, Purple Stained Glass ×1
  7. Layer 7 Magenta Stained Glass ×3, Purple Stained Glass ×2, Stone Bricks ×2, Black Concrete ×1, Cracked Stone Bricks ×1, Mossy Stone Bricks ×1, Polished Blackstone ×1, Stone Brick Slab ×1
  8. Layer 8 Magenta Stained Glass ×4, Black Concrete ×2, Stone Brick Slab ×2, Stone Bricks ×2, Purple Stained Glass ×1
  9. Layer 9 Purple Stained Glass ×3, Magenta Stained Glass ×2, Black Concrete ×1, Mossy Stone Bricks ×1, Polished Blackstone ×1, Stone Bricks ×1
  10. Layer 10 Purple Stained Glass ×3, Magenta Stained Glass ×2, Black Concrete ×1, Chiseled Stone Bricks ×1, Polished Blackstone ×1, Stone Bricks ×1
  11. Layer 11 Black Concrete ×4, Lantern ×1, Stone Brick Slab ×1, Stone Brick Stairs ×1

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