Located on the campus of the Archbishop’s Palace (180 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Xuan Hoa Ward), there is an old house hidden in many adjacent high-rise zones – that’s Tan Xa Palace.
“Souvenirs” of Emperor Gia Long
The house was built by Emperor Nguyen Anh for Pierre Joseph Georges Pigneau, a French Catholic priest, also known as Pierre Pigneaux or Ba Da Loc, to teach Prince Nguyen Phuc Canh right after they both returned from France in 1789. Pierre Pigneaux is also best known for his role in assisting Nguyen Anh in establishing the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam following the defeat of the Tay Son dynasty.
Souvenirs of Emperor Gia Long. Initially, the house was built on the Thi Nghe Canal, within the precincts of today’s Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens. After Pierre Pigneaux passed away (1799), it was used as accommodation for other priests and a storage facility for military equipment.
In 1864, the French built the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, so the house was moved to Alexandre de Rhodes Street. In 1900, after the Archbishop’s Palace was built, the house was moved to its present site.
In 1897, when referring to that tiled wooden house, Mr. Truong Vinh Ky, a Vietnamese scholar, dubbed it the Tan Xa Palace. When the Archbishop’s Palace was completed in 1911, the house was used as a chapel.
Tan Xa Palace is considered the oldest house in Saigon, more than 200 years old. The building is made entirely of precious wood, and the frame is joined entirely by joinery that requires no nails.
Although it was built to serve Catholic worship, the house still follows the principles of traditional Vietnamese architecture.
The house is built in traditional Vietnamese architecture with three compartments and two lean-tos within an area of 136 m². The roof is roofed with yin-yang tiles with sophisticated motifs.
The front roof is made of green glazed tiles, with reliefs of two dragons and the Cross. Regarding the meaning of the relief above, some researchers believe they represent a combination of Western religious and Eastern beliefs.
The door frames and doors are made of precious wood, with delicate carvings of the phoenix, dragons, and flowers. Inside the house, many household items, such as tables, chairs, cabinets, and screens, have been well preserved and are in good condition. In the middle of the house is an altar with the original decor still intact.
Only some of the chandeliers have been replaced because the old ones were damaged. Similarly, the tiled roof was partially replaced during the last restoration in 2014. However, the oldest house in Saigon still retains its architectural art.
Today, the Tan Xa Palace is a place of worship open on Sundays and weekday mornings; however, it attracts many tourists during their visits to Ho Chi Minh City.
Source: collected by An
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