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Mandalay Palace

The Mandalay Palace, located in Mandalay, Myanmar, is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay.

The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design, inside a walled fort surrounded by a moat. The palace itself is at the centre of the citadel and faces east. All buildings of the palace are of one storey in height. The number of spires above a building indicated the importance of the area below.

Northern portion of the citadel's eastern wall, seen from the East Moat Bridge.
The palace citadel's four 2 km long walls form a perfect square, complete with a total of 48 bastions with gold tipped pyatthats 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.


Southern portion of the citadel's eastern wall, seen from the East Moat Bridge.
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.

Northern portion of the citadel's eastern wall, seen from the Oo Teik Gateway.
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 merlons, and 8.23 m (27 ft) with the merlons.

  • The embrasures are 0.84 m (2 ft 9 in) in width.

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Source

Location

Location: Mandalay Palace, Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma)