Content deleted Content added
→Mandalay Palace: Fixed grammar Tags: canned edit summary Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit |
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
(31 intermediate revisions by 26 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy}}
''{{Infobox building▼
| name = Mandalay ▼
| native_name
| native_name_lang
| former_names
| alternate_names =
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| location_town =
| location_country
| coordinates
| groundbreaking_date =
| start_date
| completion_date
| opened_date
| inauguration_date
| demolition_date
| destruction_date
| architect
| landlord
| owner = Government of Myanmar
| floor_area
| top_floor
| floor_count
| awards
| url
| embedded
| references
| map_type
| map_alt
| map_caption
| relief
| altitude
| building_type =
| architectural_style =
| structural_system
| renovation_date
| height
| architectural
| tip
| antenna_spire
| roof
| observatory
| other_dimensions
| seating_type
| seating_capacity
| elevator_count
| architecture_firm
| main_contractor
| designations
| ren_architect
| grounds_area
}}
[[File:Mandalay Palace wall - view towards Mandalay Hill.jpg|thumb|Palace wall on the moat with Mandalay Hill in the distance.]]
The '''Mandalay Palace''' ({{lang-my|မန္တလေး နန်းတော်}}, {{IPA-my|máɰ̃dəlé náɰ̃dɔ̀|pron}}), located in [[Mandalay]], [[Myanmar]], is the last royal [[palace]] of the [[Konbaung dynasty|last Burmese monarchy]]. The palace was constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King [[Mindon Min|Mindon]]'s founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design
Mandalay Palace was the primary royal residence of King [[Mindon Min|Mindon]] and King [[Thibaw Min|Thibaw]], the last two kings of the country. The complex ceased to be a royal residence and seat of government on 28 November 1885 when, during the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]], troops of the Burma Field Force entered the palace and captured the royal family. The British turned the palace compound into Fort [[Lord Dufferin|Dufferin]], named after the then [[viceroy of India]]. Throughout the [[British Burma|British colonial era]], the palace was seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol of sovereignty and identity. Much of the palace compound was destroyed during [[World War II]] by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.
Line 69 ⟶ 70:
==History==
[[File:Third Anglo-Burmese War A.jpg|thumb|left|upright|British colonial forces in Mandalay Palace, which they subsequently
[[File:The War in the Far East- the Burma Campaign 1941-1945 SE3474.jpg|thumb|Fort Dufferin under aerial attack during World War II]]
[[File:Painting-of-Mandalay-Palace-gardens.jpg|thumb|A traditional Burmese painting of Mandalay Palace grounds during the Konbaung dynasty.]]
The Mandalay Palace was constructed as part of King Mindon's founding of Mandalay in February 1857.<ref name="mandalay palace">{{cite web | url=http://www.lib.washington.edu/myanmar/pdfs/MP0001A.pdf
In June 1857, the construction of the palace began. After the disastrous [[Second Anglo-Burmese War]] of 1852, the shrunken Burmese kingdom had few resources to build a new ostentatious palace. The former royal palace of [[Amarapura]] was dismantled and moved by elephants to the new location at the foot of Mandalay Hill. The construction of the palace compound was officially completed on Monday, 23 May 1859.<ref name="mandalay palace"/>
=== 1989–present: Reconstruction and conservation ===
Reconstruction of the palace began in 1989, initiated by the Department of Archaeology.<ref name="moore">{{cite journal|last=Moore|first=Elizabeth|year=1993|title=The Reconstruction of mandalay Palace|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|publisher=University of London|volume=56|issue=2|doi=10.1017/s0041977x0000553x }}</ref> Because government funds were insufficient, the Mandalay Committee for the palace Reconstruction was formed, with funds coming from the [[State Peace and Development Council|State Law and Order Restoration Council]], which patronized this project.<ref name="moore"/> The regional governments of [[Mandalay Division|Mandalay]], [[Magwe Division|Magwe]] and [[Sagaing Division]]s were responsible for drawing up architectural plans and constructing various parts of the palace:<ref name="moore"/>
*Mandalay Division: Great Audience Hall, the Lion Throne
*Magwe Division: Watchtower, Lily Throne Room
*Sagaing Division; Goose Throne Room
While the overall design was faithful, the construction process incorporated both traditional and modern building techniques. Corrugated sheet metal was used for the roofing of most buildings, while concrete was extensively used as a building material (the original palace was built using only [[teak]]).<ref name="moore"/>
One of the halls was dismantled during the rule of King Thibaw and rebuilt as [[Shwenandaw Monastery]]. It is the single remaining major structure of the original wooden palace today.
In October 2021, in the aftermath of the [[2021 Myanmar coup d'état]], the [[State Administration Council]] began constructing a public recreation park adjacent to the historic walls of the Mandalay Palace in violation of the 2015 Law on the Preservation and Protection of Ancient Buildings, sparking criticism from local conservationists.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-13|title=Myanmar Junta Criticized Over Mandalay Palace Park Plan|url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-criticized-over-mandalay-palace-park-plan.html|access-date=2021-10-14|website=The Irrawaddy|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Citadel==
Line 90 ⟶ 95:
===The wall===
[[File:Mandalay Fort Wall.jpg|thumb|A [[bastion]] at the
The palace citadel's four 2 km long walls form a perfect square, complete with a total of 48 [[bastions]] with gold tipped ''[[pyatthat]]s'' or spires at regular intervals of 169 m (555 ft) and surrounded by a moat 64 m (210 ft) wide, 4.5 m (15 ft) deep. The walls, built with the common Burmese bricks set in mud mortar, are 3 m (10 ft) thick at the base and 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in) at the top; 6.86 m (22.5 ft) in height, excluding the [[merlon]]s, and 8.23 m (27 ft) with the merlons. The [[embrasure]]s are 0.84 m (2 ft 9 in) in width. To give access to the [[battlements]] in cases of alert and at the same time to strengthen the wall, an earthen rampart on a moderately inclined plane has been thrown up behind it. Its summit forms a platform 1.83 m (2 ft) wide, paved with bricks and running all along the walls behind the [[crenelle]]s.<ref name="mandalay palace"/>
[[File:Mandalay, Palacio 02.jpg|thumb|Palace wall at night]]
===Gates===
On each face of the walls are three gateways placed at equal distances (508 m; 1666.5 ft) one from the other and from the corners.
Each of the twelve gates, represented by its own [[zodiac]] sign, is 4.8 m (15.75 ft) wide and flanked on both sides by one-half of a bastion which supports the post of a many-tiered pavilion or pyatthat that rises over the gateway. The pyatthats over middle gates, used by the royalty, have seven tiers while those on the rest have only five. Of these twelve gates, the main one was the central gate in the east wall, facing the Great Hall of Audience and the Lion Throne in the
The bastion projects 7 m (23 ft) from the face of the wall, and is 10.36 m (34) ft in breadth on each side of the gateway. It is ornamented on the outside, with simple mouldings and simple plaster carvings, but on the inner face which forms the prolongation of the gateway itself, it rises abruptly without any plinth or mouldings, from the ground level. Two flights of steps, one on each side of the gateway, provide access to the top of the bastion and the wall. Each gateway was equipped with a thick wooden door of two leaves, (which were removed after the British annexation).<ref name="mandalay palace"/>
Line 102 ⟶ 108:
The entrance to each gateway is protected by a masonry screen or [[barbican]] erected a few metres away from the moat in front of the entrance. It is 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in) in length, 5.2 m (17 ft) thick, 1.5 m (1 ft 8 in) in height, raised on a low plinth, and battering to the top. The summit is crowned by crenellated battlements on three sides only, the inner side facing the gate being left open and free. Access to the top could be gained by means of ladders, no other means of going up having been provided. It served as an advanced defence work protecting both the gate and the bridge a few feet away. By the side of this screen is a huge teak pillar resting on a brick plinth stepped off on two sides, and carrying near the top a wooden board on which is carved an inscription giving the name of the gate, and the year and date on which it was built.
Each of the four walls has 13 bastions for a total of 48 bastions. (Bastions at each corner are merged into one, hence 48 in total.) All the intermediate bastions are surmounted by a quintuple-roof pavilion. The barge-board of these many-gabled roofs are covered with carvings.<ref name="mandalay palace"/>[[File:Masonry screens of Mandalay Palace.jpg|thumb|
===The moat===
[[File:Mandalay Hill, Myanmar.JPG|thumb|The
[[File:King Thibaw's State Barge on the Mandalay Moat.jpg|thumb|King Thibaw's
Surrounding the walls, at a distance of about 18 m (60 ft) from them, is a moat 64 m (210 ft) wide, and of an average depth of 4.5 m (15 ft). In the case of foes armed with ancient weapons, this moat would no doubt have presented a rather formidable obstacle to the besieging army, whose crafts would have been completely exposed to the missiles of the warriors protected by the merlons on the ramparts and on the barbicans.
The moat was originally spanned over by five wooden bridges, four of which lead to the four principal or middle gates, that is one to each face of the walls. The fifth leads up to the south-western gate, used during the times of monarchy for ''amingala'' or inauspicious occasions such as to carry off dead bodies. The British constructed two additional bridges one at the south-west and the other at the north-west corner, to allow of materials and supplies for the troops into the fort.
The five original bridges are similar in design and are in unison with the defensive character of the fort and the moat. Two earthen embankments encased within brick walls form the abutments running into the moat from both banks. The space between is spanned over by teak logs of natural size
==Palace grounds==
[[File:Clock Tower, Mandalay Palace.jpg|thumb|The
===Clock Tower===
Entering the
===Relic Tower===
[[File:Tooth Relic Tower, Mandalay Palace.jpg|thumb|left|The Relic Tower, circa 1903.]]
To the south of the Clock Tower, nearly facing it across the road is ''Swedawzin'' ({{my|စွယ်တော်စင်}}) or the Tooth-Relic Tower. A good example of traditional Burmese architecture, the Relic Tower has three parts
The relic-chamber on the terrace is square; the only entrance into it is on the west, facing the flight of stairs by which access is obtained to the top of the terrace; these narrow steps are enclosed between two brick walls, ornamented with copings in three tiers; the lower end of each coping is terminated by a large and graceful volute; this kind of ornamental stairs, with minor
Line 130 ⟶ 136:
===Hluttaw===
The ''[[Hluttaw]]'' ({{my|လွှတ်တော်}}, {{IPA-my|l̥ʊʔ tɔ̀|}}) or the Supreme Court was where the official business of the court was conducted. The Lion Throne (Sihasana) was the chief throne of eight in the palace. The hall consists of two three-roofed wooden structures, richly decorated with figures and flowers, and supported by massive teak pillars painted red at the bottom and gilded above. Therein was a Lion-Throne (Sihasana) for the
===Royal mausoleums===
{{main|Konbaung tombs}}
[[File:King Mindon's Tomb, Mandalay.jpg|thumb|King Mindon's mausoleum, c. 1903]]
Due north from the Clock Tower is a cluster of
===Royal Mint===
The Royal Mint is located a few hundred metres to the northeast of the mausoleums. It was where the first Burmese coin was minted in 1865. After the British annexation, the
===Watch tower===
[[File:Mandalay-Palace-Watch-Tower.JPG|thumb|Mandalay Palace
The palace grounds are dominated by the 24 m (78 ft) tall ''Nanmyintsaung'' ({{my|နန်းမြင့်ဆောင်}}) or Watch Tower, topped by a seven tiered ''pyatthat''. It was the spot from which to view the city.<ref name=falconer>{{cite book | title=Burmese design & architecture |author1=John Falconer |author2=Luca Invernizzi |author3=Daniel Kahrs |author4=Elizabeth Moore |author5=Luca Invernizzi Tettoni |author6=Alfred Birnbaum |author7=Joe Cummings |author-link7=Joe Cummings (travel writer) | page=70 | year=2000 | publisher=Tuttle Publishing | isbn=9789625938820}}</ref> The
==On the palace platform==
The road from the Eastern Gate, which passes between the Clock Tower and the Relic Tower, leads to the Mye-Nandaw, and the Golden Spire over the Lion Throne Room, which marks the centre of the city. All the
===Great Audience Hall===
[[File:Great Audience Hall, Mandalay.jpg|thumb|The Great Audience Hall in 1903]]
This
Below the
The Great Audience Hall was built with a special eye to external effect, and this object was attained by carving and gilding all the wooden parts of the roofs-except the panels between the two roofs, which were merely gilt-that is, the gables, barge-boards and eaves-boards. The carving is in low relief and consists principally of a lotus and foliage-band on the eaves-boards; the barge-boards are ornamented with a plain scroll design and surmounted by flamboyant which are very effective as a decoration. But the wealth of ornamentation is lavished on the corners of the hipped roofs and the points of the gables as well as their lower extremities. The corners of the hipped (lower) roofs are surmounted by two wooden boards, made up of several joined pieces
Line 160 ⟶ 166:
===Lion Throne Room===
[[File:Lion throne, Mandalay Palace.jpg|thumb|The Lion Throne in 1903]]
There were eight thrones in the
The other thrones were the [[Hamsa|Hintha]] Throne ({{my|ဟင်္သာသနပလ္လင်}}), Elephant Throne (''Gajasana'') in the [[Byedaik]] (Privy Council Hall), Thinga Throne, Deer Throne (''Migasana''), Peacock Throne (''Marurasana''), Lily Throne ({{my|ပဒုမ္မာသနပလ္လင်}}), and Bee Throne (''Bhamarasana'').
Line 179 ⟶ 185:
| footer = Left: The Glass Palace in 1903. Right: Design of the Glass Palace
}}
[[File:
''Hmannandawgyi'' ({{my|မှန်နန်းတော်ကြီး}}) or Glass Palace, is the largest and considered one of the most beautiful apartments of the
In the east room is the Bee Throne (Bhamarasana), so called because it was adorned with figures of bees in the small niches at the bottom of the pedestal. This was where the ceremony for the nomination of the Chief Queen and the Royal nuptial were held. It was also where the king and queen celebrated the Burmese New Year, and where the formal ear piercing of young princesses took place. The body of King Mindon was laid out in this room for viewing after his death in 1878.
The west room, which was formerly divided into several smaller ones, was the principal living room of Mindon, and no other persons were allowed to sleep there except the four principal queens, to each of whom was appointed a room near the royal bed-chamber, which consisted of a small room surmounted by a ''pyatthat'', or small spire consisting of seven superposed roofs similar to the Golden Spire over the Lion Throne Room on the cast of the
In the time of King Thibaw, Queen Supayalat had a small room to herself in this west room of the Hmannan.
Line 190 ⟶ 196:
==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Mandalay Palace 2.jpg|Front of the
File:Chief Queen's Apartments, Mandalay Palace.jpg|Chief Queen's Apartments
File:Lily Throne Hall closeup, Mandalay Palace.jpg|Lily Throne Hall in 1903
Line 196 ⟶ 202:
File:Queen's Baths.jpg|The Queen's Baths
File:Mandalay Palace Wall.jpg|Mandalay Palace wall and bastion
File:Mandalay Palace entrance.JPG|One of the
File:Mandalay Palace (15475654948).jpg|On the way to the
File:Mandalay Palace (15041055174).jpg|The cannon
File:Mandalay Palace..JPG|The MyayNanPyathat building
File:Mandalay-Palace-Watch-Tower.JPG|The
File:Mandalay palace 11.jpg|Inside of the
File:MANDALAY PALACE TEMPLE MANDALAY MYANMA FEB2013 (8504084444).jpg|Inside of the
File:MANDALAY PALACE TEMPLES MANDALAY MYANMAR FEB 2013 (8500270564).jpg
File:Mandalay Palace d62.jpg
Line 208 ⟶ 214:
File:Detail of (Restored) Mandalay Palace.jpg
File:MANDALAY PALACE TEMPLE MYANMAR FEB 2013 (8595037922).jpg
File:The Glass Palace, Mandalay.jpg|The HmanNan
File:Royal Palace Mandalay d60.jpg|The HmanNan
File:Royal Palace Mandalay d53.jpg|The HmanNan building
File:King Mindon and Queen Satkyardevi Royal Palace Mandalay d051.jpg|King Mindon and the Queen SatKyar Daywi
Line 220 ⟶ 226:
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://dlxs.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=sea;cc=sea;sid=1ce41ee908bd266b24702092a39e174a;rgn=full%20text;idno=sea282;view=image;seq=360 Wanderings in Burma by George W Bird, 1897] – F J Bright & Son, London
*[http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/02/royal-palace-mandalay-myanmar/ Recent photos of Mandalay Palace]
Line 226 ⟶ 232:
{{coord|21|59|34.59|N|96|5|45.28|E|region:MM_type:landmark|display=title}}
▲{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2011}}
[[Category:Palaces in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Royal residences in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Former palaces]]
[[Category:Mandalay]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mandalay Region]]
|