Complex of Huế Monuments
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How it came to be
Huế became the capital of a unified Viet Nam under Emperor Gia Long in 1802 and remained the political, cultural and religious centre of the Nguyễn dynasty until 1945. Gia Long surveyed the site in 1803 and had a citadel built beside the Perfume River. Its walls follow the Vauban style of European fortification and run for nearly 10 kilometres.
Inside the citadel lies the Imperial City, about 600 metres on each side, and within that the Purple Forbidden City. The work was finished in 1832 under Emperor Minh Mạng. The buildings were placed according to feng shui and the Five Elements, drawing on Chinese art and on Western touches introduced by French architects in Gia Long's service. Outside the walls stand the tombs of Gia Long, Minh Mạng, Tự Đức, Khải Định and other emperors.
On 30 August 1945 the last emperor, Bảo Đại, abdicated in the Imperial City. Fighting in 1947 burned the core of the palace, and in the Battle of Huế during the Tết Offensive, which began on 31 January 1968, only 10 major sites survived out of 160 buildings. The complex was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1993, and restoration continues.
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