Da Nang to restore old citadel

Da Nang (VNA) - The central city of Da Nang will resettle 38 buildings and other projects that encroach on a protected area of the Dien Hai Citadel’s 2016-20 restoration.

The city’s administration said 38 houses built near the citadel’s west walls will be removed, while planned projects on the north of the citadel will be revoked.

Director of the city’s Culture and Sports Department, Huynh Hung, said over 100,000 households had been removed from the surrounding area of the citadel over past 20 years, and only the last 54 households within the protected belt of the citadel have yet been resettled to another location.

He said the citadel, which was listed as a national historical monument in 1988, needs space for restoration and tourism.

Hung said the department also urged the city resettle the Da Nang Museum once located in the citadel.

Dien Hai Citadel was first constructed as a military outpost in the 12th year of King Gia Long’s reign (1813), near the mouth of the Han River, to control access to Da Nang port and serve as an important defensive position.

The citadel still has a moat between two brick walls and cannon collection displayed outdoors.

Last year, the city proposed the collection of 11 cannons (had originally been cast in iron during the Nguyen Dynasty, between 1802 and 1860) unearthed at the Dien Hai Citadel between 1979 and 2008 to be recognised as a national treasure.

The cannon collection and citadel are closely linked to Nguyen Tri Phuong (1800-73), a famous general who commanded an army and civilians in fighting against against French-Spanish coalition forces in 1858-60.

Da Nang has 50 historical sites and 18 national historical monuments included in the city’s restoration project for 2016-20.-VNA