Dien Khanh citadel is the famous historical and cultural monument in Dien Khanh town, Khanh Hoa Province, where many important historical events took place. At present, Dien Khanh citadel still retains the ancient architecture, attracting a lot of tourists to discover the historical value from the Nguyen dynasty in here. Dien Khanh citadel is taking 10 km from west of Nha Trang city, on the right of National Highway 1. In 1793, after Nguyen Hue died, Nguyen Anh, Vo Tanh and Nguyen Van Truong brought troops to fight Dien Khanh. After repelling the Tay Son insurgents, seeing this place as an important strategic long-term, Nguyen Anh decided to build Dien Khanh into a solid base as Dien Khanh citadel at present.

Dien Khanh citadel areas about 36,000 m² bringing French military architecture style, the popular military model in the 17th-18th century in Western Europe. The walls of the citadel are hexagonal but uneven, with a circumference of 2,693 m, about 3.5 m in height. On each side, the wall is divided into many small sections, winding, so that the corners do not stand out but still ensure to observe thoroughly the two sides. The exterior of the wall is almost upright, the interior is comfortable and covered in two steps, creating a convenient transportation. Outside the moat is a deep moat with 3 to 5 m in height, and 20 to 30 m in width.
Initially, there are only 6 gates, but at the present, there are only 4 gates, including East, West, South, and North. Traveling from National Highway No.1, there is a monolithic road linking the East and the West of the city. The road running outside the citadel connecting National Highway 1 and West is called Ma Xa. Opposite about 200 meters from the West Gate, is Ha Dua Church. Ha Dua church had been built by preachers in the 1800s and the bell tower was built in 1917 by the French, is the ideal destination for tourists to discover about the historical value of the Dien Khanh citadel. Inside the citadel are many unique architectures such as royal palace, flagpole, imperial palace, palace assassination, and warehouse from the early days against the French.

Let’s discover the Dien Khanh citadel to understand more about the historical value of Vietnam from the days against the Frech!