Kien Trung Palace (Vietnamese: Điện Kiến Trung) is a palace within the Imperial City of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. It was the residence of the last two emperors of the Nguyễn dynasty.[1] It was destroyed by the Viet Minh in 1947 during the Indochina Wars. Reconstruction started in 2019 and was completed in 2023. The palace is now open to the public.
The palace is one of the five major structures located at the northernmost point of the central axis of the Imperial City, with the character "Kiến" signifying establishment or founding, and "Trung" implying directness and non-deviation.[2]
In 1921, Emperor Khải Định (1885-1925) started to build a new palace in European style within the Forbidden Purple City of Huế. When completed in 1923, the Kien Trung palace became his own residence with the Imperial City. Khải Định passed away at the palace in 1925. A model of palace in papier-mache was burned during the funeral ceremony, in the hope that his afterlife residence would be similar to the Kien Trung palace.[3] Emperor Bảo Đại (1913-1997) would be the last monarch to live and work in the Kien Trung palace, together with his empress consort Nam Phương (1914-1963). Both departed from the tradition that the emperor and empress would live in separate residences. In 1932, the palace was modernized and redecorated.[4] Also, modern facilities were installed such as a bathroom. Crown Prince Bảo Long (1936-2007) was born at the palace at 4 January 1936. On 25 August 1945, emperor Bảo Đại drafted and signed his abdication statement at the palace.[5] Then he left for Hanoi, and afterwards took refuge in China. Nam Phương and their children moved to An Định palace before they also left Huế.[6] During the anti-French struggles after the abdication between 1945 and 1947, the palace was destroyed by the Viet Minh. What remained were sections of the balustrades, and foundations. In the 21st century, the decision was made to reconstruct the Kien Trung Palace. Construction started on 16 February 2019 and was completed by the end of 2023.[7] The palace opened to the public in 2024.[8]
The Kien Trung palace was located at the far north of the Forbidden Purple City within the north–south axis (the so-called Dung Dao axis), behind the Can Thanh and Khon Thai palaces. It was designed in eclectic style, mixing European styles (Italian Renaissance and French classicism) and ancient Vietnamese styles. The palace replaced a pavilion that was constructed by emperor Minh Mạng (1791-1841), and which later was renovated under emperors Tự Đức (1829-1883) and Duy Tân (1900-1945).
Its long facade facing south and decorated with colorful ceramics opened onto a geometric park in the Art Deco style which was accessed by small stone stairs decorated with dragons and snakes. A balustrade with bulging French balusters ran the entire length in front the facade. This included thirteen openings on the ground floor and first floor, including a large portico door in the middle. Two small projections rose on each side including a large door on the ground floor and a large window above, all topped with an Asian gable. The central avant-corps included five openings on each floor. Thus on each side of the central avant-corps the two recessed parts of the upper floor had three openings each. All the windows were surrounded by ornate carved motifs. The roof with its slightly raised sides was decorated with a Vietnamese-style parapet.