Tomb of Gia Long


Tomb of Gia Long, officially Thien Tho Mausoleum, is a royal tomb of the Nguyễn Dynasty which is located in the Hương Thọ commune of Hương Trà district, some 20 kilometres south of the city of Huế.

History

The tomb was originally built for Emperor Gia Long's first wife, Empress Thừa Thiên after her death in 1814 but later became Gia Long's and some of his family members' burial site. Today, the tomb is badly damaged and some of its structures have deteriorated.

Architecture

The tomb is a group of tombs and was well known for its beauty. The tomb originally had a main complex that formed by the double-grave tomb of the emperor and empress Thừa Thiên in the center; Minh Thanh Temple, the dedicated temple of Gia Long and Thừa Thiên in the right, and the monument of Gia Long in the left. They were built at a plain and large hill of Thiên Thọ mount. On the right lies empress Thuận Thiên's tomb and her dedicated temple, the Gia Thanh Temple, built upon the foothills of Thuận Sơn mount. A lot of Nguyễn Dynasty royal family members, including Gia Long's mother and elder sister, were also buried here.
Their burial sites made the tomb's perimeter rise to approximately 11.234 m.