Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

inaugurated 1975




This architectural structure honoring the late President is appropriately located at the center of Ba Dinh square on the spot where Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence in 1945. The former president's body is laid to rest inside in a dimly lit room.
The style in my view is pompous--a type favored by totalitarian states. See, for example, the architecture preferred by Albert Speer, Hitler's architect, or the Valley of the Fallen, a Franco project. However, the style seems an oddity, given the affectionate and intimate way "Uncle" Ho is referred to and his own dislike of pretension. (Note, for example, his nearby stilt house.)


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© 2004 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.

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