Quang Tri Ancient Citadel

Quang Tri ancient citadel The Quang Tri citaedl was built in 1824 by the order of King Minh Mang. It is located in Thach Han village, Hai Lang district, initially the citadel was a work of earth. Four years later it was rebuilt with bricks.

In 1972 during the phasing out of the American intervention in the Vietnam Was, the liberation army seized the citadel from the Sai Gon troops. The stationing liberation troops had to suffer the heaviest and longest artillery and bombing attacks ever launched by the Saigon army to recapture the citadel. The citadel located in an enclosed area of about two square kilometers had to endure the velocity of bombing and artillery explosion which was equal to eight times the velocity of the atomic bomb dropped by the US in Hiroshima in Japan in 1954.

At present visitors to the site of the ancient Quang Tri Citadel can still see several pieces of brick wall of the citadel. They are all what have been left after the 36-day battle back in 1972. One can imagine these standing brick walls as some sort of war memorials to those fallen combatants in the fight at the Quang Tri citadel.