Son Tay ancient citadel was built by King Minh Mang in 1822 to defend the western gateway to the city of Thang Long, which is now Hanoi. It has the style of a Vauban fortification; in time French architects praised it as a masterpiece of Vietnamese architecture.
There were four main gates also made of bee-stone (laterite), the special material from Xu Doai. The citadel was where the kings of the Nguyen Dynasty lived and worked when in the area.
The Citadel have quadrilateral, trapezoidal cross-sections. There are many holes in the top where soldiers can hide out and shoot at the enemy when they climb the walls.
The four main ports: The south gate called Tien gate; the north is the Hau port, the East and west the main.
Each port on the top has a guard floor (Vietnamese call Vong Lau) and only one entrance; the outside is covered Duong Ma Thanh (also known as fish bearing.
The outer moatis connected to the Tich river in the southwest corner.
The outer ring is far from La Thanh (the citadel outside) which is covered by land 3.5m high with a pentagon shape, and had external spines with avdense bamboo cover. The four external ports also look to the four directions: East, West, South, North, now called La Thanh street.
In the citadel, the important works are built on a center axis North-South. The middle is the "Vong Cung Nu" to the south, where the King takes a rest when inspecting provinces governed by viceroys each week.
In the middle of citadel is an ancient flag tower painted bright red. There are new stones where moss-covered ones used to be.
After nearly 200 years, many wars and devastating time, ancient Son Tay citadel was largely destroyed, leaving only the walls, doors, money, door post, two cannons, the foundation of Kinh Thien palace, the wells ...
Son Tay ancient citadel is covered by green trees. There is the moat that surrounds ancient citadel. It's quiet and cool for walking.
Son Tay citadel is one of the great symbols of Vietnam’s cultural heritage together along with Co Loa ancient citadel, Hanoi citadel and Hue Imperial palace.
In 1994, the citadel was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national historic architectural relict site.
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(Source:Vntourism/VNE)
