- Reunification Palace
Infobox building
building_name = Reunification Palace
native_building_name= Hội trường Thống Nhất
caption = Reunification Palace
former_names = Independence Palace, Norodom Palace
building_type = Historical Palace, Presidential Palace
architectural_style =
structural_system =
location =Ho Chi Minh City ,Vietnam
owner =
current_tenants =
landlord =
coordinates =
start_date =1 July 1962
completion_date =31 October 1966
demolition_date =
height = 26m
diameter =
other_dimensions =
floor_count = 4
floor_area =
main_contractor =
architect = Ngô Viết Thụ
structural_engineer =
services_engineer =
civil_engineer = Phan Văn Điển
other_designers =
quantity_surveyor =
awards =Reunification Palace ( _vi. Dinh Thống Nhất) formerly known as Independence Palace ("Dinh Độc Lập") built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a historic landmark in
Ho Chi Minh City ,Vietnam . It was designed by architectNgo Viet Thu as the home and workplace of the President ofSouth Vietnam during theVietnam War and the site of the official handover of power during theFall of Saigon onApril 30 ,1975 . It was then known as Independence Palace, and an NVA tank crashed through its gates, as recorded by Neil Davis. [http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~ddwkl/neildavis.html]History
In
1858 ,France launched the first attack inDanang , starting its invasion of Vietnam. In1867 , France completed its conquest ofNam Bo (Cochinchina ), including (Biên Hoà ,Gia Định ,Định Tường ,Vĩnh Long ,An Giang , andHà Tiên ). To consolidate the newly established colony in Cochinchina, on 23 February1868 , Lagrandière, Governor of Cochinchina, held the first building stone ceremony to start the construction of a new palace to replace the the old wooden palace built in 1863. The new palace was designed by Hermite, who was also the architect of Hong Kong City Hall. That first cubic stone, measuring 50 cm along each edge, with holes containing French gold and silver coins withNapoleon III 's effigy, came fromBien Hoa .The building covered an area of 12 hectares, including a palace with the façade of 80 meters in width, a guest-chamber capable of accommodating 800 persons, with surrounding gardens covered by green trees and grasses. Most of the building materials were inported from France. Owing to the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the construction got behind schedule. Not until 1873 was this palace completed. The palace was named Norodom Palace after the then king ofCambodia (KingNorodom (1834-1904). The avenue in front of the palace bore the same name. From 1871 to 1887, the palace was for the use of the French Governor of Cochinchina ("Gouverneur de la Cochinchine"); therefore, it was referred to as Governor's Palace. From 1887 to 1945, all Governors-General of French Indochina used this palace as their residence and office. The office of the Cochinchinese Governors was relocated to a nearby villa.On
March 9 1945 ,Japan defeated and replaced France inFrench Indochina . Norodom Palace became the office of Japanese colonists in Vietnam. In September 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces inWorld War II , France returned to Cochinchina and Norodom Palace was restored to its position as the office of French colonists in Vietnam.On
May 7 1954 , France surrendered to theViet Minh after its defeat in theBattle of Dien Bien Phu . France agreed to sign the Geneva Accords and withdrew its troops from Vietnam. According to the accords, Vietnam would be divided for two years until 1956 with the17th Parallel as the temporary border line when a vote based onuniversal suffrage would be held to establish a unified Vietnamese government. North Vietnam was under the control of a communist government, theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam , while South Vietnam was under the anti-communistRepublic of Vietnam . On 7 September 1954, Norodom Palace was handed over to the prime minister of the Republic of VietnamNgo Dinh Diem and a representative of the French government, generalPaul Ély .In 1955, Ngô Đình Diệm overthrew
Bao Dai , the head of the Republic of Vietnam in areferendum (or1955 South Vietnamese election ). Ngô Đình Diệm became president of the Republic of Vietnam and renamed the Norodom Palace Independence Hall. From this time this palace became the presidential palace. According tofengshui belief, this palace is located in a dragon's head; therefore, it was also referred to as Dragon's Head Palace.On 27 February 1962, two pilots of the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Cử andPhạm Phú Quốc flew twoA-1 Skyraider (A-1D/AD-6 version) aircraft and bombed the Hall in what was known as1962 South Vietnamese Presidential Palace bombing . As a result almost the whole left wing of the Hall was destroyed. Considering that it was almost impossible to restore the Hall, Diệm ordered it removed and rebuilt a new one on the site of the original palace. The new palace was constructed according to the design byNgô Viết Thụ , a Vietnamese architect who won the First Grand Prize of Rome (Grand Prix de Rome ) in 1955, the highest recognition of the Beaux-Arts school in Paris. He was also a laureate of the Rome Architecture Award.The construction of the new Independence Hall started on 1 July 1962. Meanwhile, Ngô Đình Diệm moved to
Gia Long Palace (today this is theHo Chi Minh City Museum ). But Ngô Đình Diệm had no chance to see the completed hall as he and his brotherNgo Dinh Nhu were assassinated in acoup d'état by the opposition alliance on 2 November 1963. The completed hall was inaugurated on 31 October 1966 and was chaired by the chairman of the National Leadership Committee,Nguyen Van Thieu . The Independence Hall became the presidential palace again and was Thieu's home and office from October 1967 to 21 April 1975.On 8 April 1975, Nguyen Thanh Trung, a pilot of the
South Vietnam Air Force (but in fact he was a communist spy) flew anF5E aircraft, originating fromBien Hoa , and bombed the Hall but caused no significant damage. At 10:45 am30 April 1975, a tank of theNorth Vietnamese Army hit the main gate, ending theVietnam War .In November 1975, after the negotiation convention between the communist North Vietnam and communist South Vietnam was successful, in memory of that event, the Provisional Government of the
Republic of South Vietnam renamed the hall Reunification Hall (“Hội trường Thống Nhất”).External links
* [http://www.dinhdoclap.gov.vn/ Official website]
* [http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~xihuule/vietnam/saig3.html Dinh Doc Lap - Independence Palace]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE2D6153EF931A25752C0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/I/Interior%20Design Article about Reunification Palace published in The New York Times Magazine, 12 January 2003]
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