Ho Dynasty Citadel (also known as Tay Do Citadel, An Ton Citadel...) is located in Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa province. This is one of the very few remaining stone citadels in the world.
Video: Unique citadel in Thanh land
Thanh Hoa Citadel is located 45 km from Thanh Hoa city, built on the territory of Vinh Tien and Vinh Long communes. This place is becoming a destination for tourists who love to explore when coming to Thanh land.
This ancient stone citadel was built by Ho Quy Ly in 1397, initially named Tay Do citadel. Later, the Ho Dynasty was established and Tay Do became the capital of the new dynasty. Therefore, Tay Do citadel is popularly known as Ho Dynasty Citadel. With its outstanding global values in culture, architecture and history, in 2011, Ho Dynasty Citadel was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.
The Ho Dynasty Stone Citadel Heritage includes the Inner Citadel, La Thanh, and Nam Giao Altar, covering an area of 155.5 hectares and surrounded by a buffer zone of 5,078.5 hectares. The Inner Citadel has a rectangular plan, 870.5 meters long from North to South and 883.5 meters long from East to West.
The stone wall has a circumference of more than 3.5 km with many sections of the wall almost intact. The outer surface of the inner wall is vertically joined with large stone blocks, the inner surface is covered with earth, some slabs are up to 7 m long, 1.5 m high, and weigh about 15 tons.
Visiting the Ho Dynasty Citadel, visitors cannot help but be amazed by the huge volume of stones and the way the stones were assembled to build the massive, sturdy stone walls and gates.
The citadel has four main gates in the South - North - West - East directions, called the front - back - left - right gates. The gates are all built in the style of arches, with stones arranged like grapefruit segments.
The South Gate, also known as the Front Gate, is 34.85 meters long, 8.6 meters high and 15 meters deep. The ancient city gates were all opened and closed with large, thick wooden doors. The gate’s foundations are made of large green stone blocks, protruding from the base of the arch. Some of the protruding blocks are up to 98 centimeters wide, 75 centimeters thick and more than 2 meters long.
The North Gate is the rear gate of the Ho Dynasty Citadel, measuring 21.34 meters long with a 5.80 meter wide arch, 13.55 meter deep, and 8.09 meter high to the top.
The North Gate is arched, built with stones crafted in the shape of grapefruit segments (or isosceles trapezoids), creating an arched section. Large stone blocks are placed underneath as a foundation, rectangular stone blocks are placed tightly on both sides to form the door frame without the need for adhesives.
The East Gate is 23.3 meters long, 13.4 meters deep and 6.8 meters high, with only one archway 5.77 meters wide as the entrance. The gate was built in the style of an archway, with large blocks of stone elaborately carved on three sides. The lower side forms the archway, the two side faces are the connecting faces for the archway.
The West Gate of the Ho Dynasty Citadel connects to the ancient village of Tay Giai. The West Gate is 21.5 meters wide, 13.4 meters deep, 6.1 meters high, with only one door opening in the middle, built in the style of an arch, 6.16 meters high, 5.7 meters wide.
The construction technique of the West Gate is quite similar to other gates. The arch is built with stone blocks shaped like grapefruit segments, creating an arched section. Below are placed large stone blocks as a foundation, rectangular stone blocks are arranged tightly on both sides to form the door frame without the need for adhesives.
What makes the Thanh Nha Ho heritage so attractive is that in the inner city area and the ancient village area surrounding the citadel, there are many cultural and historical relics such as Binh Khuong Temple, Dong Mon Communal House, ancient houses... and also legendary stories related to this special citadel.
Through archaeological excavations, architectural vestiges and many artifacts have been revealed that contributed to the majestic and magnificent Tay Do. The artifacts are currently located at the exhibition house of the Ho Dynasty Citadel World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center.
Hoang Dong
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