The Turtle Tower (), also called the Tortoise Tower, is a small tower in the middle of
Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake) in central
Hanoi
Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. It is one of the most iconic, symbolic and most recognizable pieces of architecture representing Hanoi and the entirety of Vietnam.
History
The island was first used as a fishing site.
In the 1400s, under
Lê Thánh Tông
Lê Thánh Tông (黎聖宗; 25 August 1442 – 3 March 1497), personal name Lê Hạo, temple name Thánh Tông, courtesy name Tư Thành, was an emperor of Đại Việt, reigning from 1460 to 1497, the fifth and the longest-reigning empero ...
a tower was built to improve the comfort of the emperor's fishing.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, under the
Revival Lê dynasty
The Revival Lê dynasty ( 茹黎中興; Hán-Việt: 黎中興朝 ''Lê trung hưng triều''), also called the Later Lê Restoration in historiography, officially Đại Việt (Chữ Hán: 大越), was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed between ...
, the
Trịnh lords Trịnh is a Vietnamese family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full na ...
had Tả Vọng Temple built on the islet.
In the 18th century, under the
Nguyễn lords
The Nguyễn lords (, 主阮; 1558–1777, 1780–1802), also known as the Nguyễn clan (; ), were Nguyễn dynasty's forerunner and a feudal noble clan ruling southern Đại Việt in the Revival Lê dynasty. The Nguyễn lords were membe ...
the temple disappeared.
In 1886, while Vietnam was occupied by the French, a musician who was secretly working for the French, received permission from the government to build a tower in the middle of Hoàn Kiếm Lake in honor of
Lê Lợi
Lê Lợi (, chữ Hán: 黎利; 10 September 1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnamese peopl ...
, one of the most famous figures of Vietnamese history and one of its greatest heroes. Legends surrounding his life involving the sword,
Thuận Thiên and
Hoan Kiem turtle are associated with
Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the island.
The musician planned to secretly bury his father within the tower. Residents of the city discovered his plans and removed his father's body from the structure. The three-story tower was still completed and was originally named Bá hộ Kim Tower.
In 1890, the French built a miniature Statue of Liberty on top of the tower. In 1945, after
French control was overthrown by the Japanese army, the Vietnamese government had the statue removed.
See also
*
Hoan Kiem turtle
References
External links
*
Hồ Hoàn Kiếm