Dalat,
one of the most charming and “European” of Vietnamese of it passed through its
many historical buildings.
If
you didn’t know you were in Vietnam, the pine forests, cool mountain air had
charming villas of Dalat might make you think was in the Alps, halfway around
the globe.
It’s
easy to understand why Dalat was chosen as a highlands resort site by the
French colonial government at the beginning of the 20th century.
Famed architect Ernest Hebrard was tasked to design the city plan, and by the
early 1930s, Dalat had become tourism, recreation, sport and game hunting region,
as well as an educational and research centre.
One
of the best ways to get a sense of Dalat’s history is through the architecture
that remains from colonial times. Instead of a uniform style, the homes and
public places of Dalat reflect the variety of backgrounds and tastes of the
original builders and inhabitants.
A
stroll along the old Tue des Glaieuls (now Nguyen Viet Xuan Road), Rue des Rose
(now Hung Thuc Khang Road0, or Paul Doumer Road (now Tran Hung Dao) is like a
gallery exhibition of the individual tastes. Set back from the highway, with
windows like eyes peering over the treetops, the villas almost seem to express
the innermost thoughts and feelings of their owners.
One
look and you can guess each homeowner’s birth place. This home’s walls are made
of bricks and timber, a style from Normandy architecture. Another’s distinctive
sloped roof connected with a chimney is a classic style of Brittany.
A
Mediterranean style can be seen in one house with a flat roof and many vaulted
doors. Another house has a grounds floor built with stones and the first floor
made of wood, with a balcony running along the exterior; its owner must have
come from the Basque country.
When
the Second World War broke out, the number of villas in Dalat increased rapidly
as may French in Indochina could not go home. In 1936 there were 327 villas; by
1945 that figure grew to over 1, 000 into a “Paris in miniature.”
The
public architectural buildings in Dalat also express the nostalgia of their
designers. The Dalat Railway Station, built by architects Moncet and Reveron in
1938, takes elements from the community houses of Vietnam’s Central Highlands,
but maintains an overall French Art Deco theme. Unique details of the station
such as the roofs and the stained glass windows echo the Trouville – Deauville
railway station in Normandy.
Not
every French building in Dalat carries such heavy nostalgia. There are also
original works that represent the modernist styles of the times between World
Wars I and II.
One
such building is the Brad Lycee Yersin Scholl (now the Dalat teacher Training
Collage), named after the Swiss – French bacteriologist who helped settle
Dalat, Alexandre Yersin. Paul Moncet, one of the architects of the Dalat
Railway Station, designed the school. Built from 1929 to 1953, the school is
designed to look like an open book, with curved walls and a belfry rising
straight up like a pen shot skywards.
Nor
is every building’s style French in origin. Built in 1930, the granite Phi Anh
villa (now Phu Dong restaurant) was imbued with Spanish architectural details,
such as pillars and a vaulted gate, its two triangular components connected by
a large corridor with low roof in the middle.
The
imprints of this colonial city continue to be seen in the present-day
architecture of new villas. The most popular new homes there are the A – form
villas, like those in the Basque country. Of course, the materials are
different and the amenities are modern, but they still bear the French style.
At the end of the day, Dalat with its unique architecture and climate can be
said to be small bit of Europe in Vietnam.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
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original article, please visit:
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