What is the special feature of Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel in Nha Trang? What is the information you need to know to fully discover this unique beauty? Let's exploremore about this famous cultural and historical site!
Located in the heart of the city, among hundreds of unique destinations, Dien Khanh ancient citadel of Nha Trang still stands out with its own mark as a famous historical site that attracts many tourists every year when travelto Nha Trang.
1. Introduction to the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang
- Formation time
Going back in time, after Nguyen Hue died in 1793, the Tay Son dynasty became weaker and weaker. Nguyen Anh personally and other famous generals, Nguyen Van Truong and Vo Tanh, brought troops into Dien Khanh. Realizing the beneficial features in the military, after repelling the Tay Son insurgents, Nguyen Anh decided to build more to make Dien Khanh a solid base and a solid defensive fortress.
- Location
Dien Khanh ancient citadel was built 10 km away from Nha Trang city to the west, on the right side of National Highway 1. Currently, most administrative offices of Dien Khanh district are located in Dien Khanh citadel, such as: The Department of Education and Training, the Public Security Agency, etc. or even the football field.
- Directions to Dien Khanh Gate
One of the points that makes the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang stand out among the attractive tourist attractions in Nha Trang is because the travel distance is quite simple, without being too fussy, you can enjoy the unique beauty.
Starting from Nha Trang city center, visitors can choose to go by motorbike or car with a travel time of 20-30 minutes to reach the ancient citadel. First, you follow the 23/10 road to Dien Khanh town, then turn right onto Ly Tu Trong street and continue for about 500m to reach the gate of Dien Khanh citadel.
2. Thanh Dien Khanh – Important historical evidence
The ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang is a relic that records many important historical events that have taken place since the reign of Lord Nguyen Trai. Experiencing many events, ups and downs, this place has transformed into a steel proof for the long history of Nha Trang city and Khanh Hoa province.
To explain about Dien Khanh ancient citadel, we will go back in time to the years in the 18th century. In 1771, the Tay Son uprising broke out, holding the pioneer flag of three brothers, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu to lead to fight against the rule of Lord Nguyen. During this period, under the Tay Son dynasty, the people of Dien Khanh were doing business peacefully.
In 1792, King Quang Trung died along with the internal turmoil of the Tay Son Dynasty, taking this opportunity, Nguyen Anh's army tried to counterattack to restore the dynasty. In the third month of the year of the Ox, Nguyen Anh led infantry to attack Phan Ri. Two months later, Nguyen Vuong's boat docked at the mouth of Nha Trang lake and then advanced to capture Dien Khanh and Binh Khang. Only two months later, Nguyen Anh's army was now in the hands of two palaces, Dien Khanh and Binh Khang.
After carefully studying the factors, Nguyen Anh found that Dien Khanh government office is an important strategic location, reflected in the convenient waterway traffic position (Cai river), besides the North - North road. In the south, near the mouth of Nha Trang sea, Dien Khanh citadel was built as a solid military base for a long-term fight with the Tay Son army.
Nguyen Anh (later known as King Gia Long) built Dien Khanh Citadel in the territory of two communes, Phu My and Truong Thanh, belonging to Dien Khanh, and gave it to Nguyen Van Thanh to guard. After that, he moved the headquarters of the old palace from Phuoc Da commune, Binh Khang palace to Dien Khanh citadel and later this place became the political and military center of Binh Khang palace.
Map of the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang in feudal times
There are other sources that say that the history of Dien Khanh ancient citadel was formed by Prince Canh directly overseeing the construction as well as monitoring the resources to build the citadel and the results were completed after more than a month. Dien Khanh citadel was a place to store wages in Gia Dinh, Binh Thuan with the purpose of transporting it to use for the northern army, so it was often attacked by the Tay Son army.
3. Discover the ancient beauty of the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang
Faded by traces of years and wars, the relics of Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel have been eroded and destroyed a lot. However, when you come here, witness the ancient architecture with bricks and tiles, the courtyard covered with green moss, the faded steps... you will not be able to help but admire the ancient beauty as well. As if unable to hold back the memory of a past feudal regime and echoing somewhere were the heroic sounds of the victory of our forefathers.
At first, the citadel was built on an open ground, shaped like a turtle's back, which is a mascot symbolizing longevity and solidity. Outside the citadel is a deep trench system. The way up and down is two stairs located inside.
To make it easier to observe the wall corners are protruding out. The garrison was also covered with a large area of land inside each corner. Each corner of the citadel is covered with a block of earth about 2m high to place cannons, called the corner fortress. This is a prominent feature of Vauban-style military architecture, a popular military citadel at that time in Western Europe.
The wall of Dien Khanh ancient city in Nha Trang has a hexagonal shape but has an unequal area, with a circumference of 2,693 m, covered with earth, the corners are protruded to increase visibility, about 3.5 m high. On each side, the wall is divided into many small segments, curving up, so the corners do not protrude completely but still ensure to see the two sides. The outer wall of the citadel is built almost vertically, in contrast to it, the inner wall has a slope and is built into two steps.
According to the flow of time, the architecture of the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang was also degraded in some places, no longer having the perfect beauty as when it was newly built. Until 2003, the citadel was restored, repainted 4 gates and reinforced some sections of the wall. Up to now, the appearance of Dien Khanh ancient citadel has been restored almost to its original state as the images kept since the beginning of construction, which creates the meaning of Dien Khanh citadel and makes it a attractive tourist destination with many domestic and international tourists.
Coming to the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang, you will see firsthand the unique and eye-catching architecture of the solid citadel. Along with that, if you stand on the wall like a strong warrior, it will also bring you a really interesting experience.
With its unique architecture, ancient lines and bricks, the courtyard covered with green moss and faded steps will create a unique frame that you get when you come to the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang. Surely you will own really impressive check-in photos with this historical witness and will inevitably reminisce about the glorious wars of the past.
Over time, although some of the ancient architectural works inside the ancient citadel of Dien Khanh Nha Trang no longer exist, the four gates still stand tall with time and become the only military citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam at Central region still exists today.
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