Spending 24 billion to renovate a nearly 300-year-old communal house on the banks of Lam River

VHO - Hoanh Son Communal House (Nam Dan District, Nghe An Province) is the first architectural and artistic relic of Nghe An Province to be ranked as a Special National Monument. After nearly 300 years of existence, the Communal House has begun to deteriorate, with some items damaged. The People's Committee of Nghe An Province has allowed its restoration and embellishment with a project with a total investment of 24 billion VND, from the medium-term public investment capital.

Hoanh Son Communal House in Khanh Son Commune, Nam Dan District (Nghe An) was built and completed in 1763, worshiping Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang - the 8th son of King Ly Thai To. Hoanh Son Communal House is famous for its many unique decorative wood carvings.

Located on an area of ​​about 2,500 m2, Hoanh Son communal house is located on the right bank of Lam river, in hamlet 4, Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district. Previously, the communal house was called Nam Hoa communal house, then Lang Ngang communal house, in Nam Kim commune.

The wooden structures are marked in detail. After being dismantled for restoration, they will be reassembled in their original state. Photo: Ngoc Tu

Hoanh Son Communal House was built in 1763. The main hall was made up of 6 sets of trusses with 32 columns, over 330 square meters wide, built in the style of a 7-room house. The art of carving is concentrated on the wooden structures of the rafters, beams, and rafters of the main hall. The most prominent are the images of the four sacred animals (dragon, unicorn, turtle, phoenix), followed by the theme of illustrating ancient and historical stories.

In addition to carving themes on wooden structures, the central room of the main hall was also decorated by ancient artisans with beautiful, artistic panels and many ancient Chinese characters. Researchers and experts in the field of architecture consider this a typical communal house in the Central region, with the most beautiful carvings in the country.

Hoanh Son Communal House was demolished and restored.

The project was ranked as a special national architectural and artistic relic by the Prime Minister in 2017.

Over the course of time, many items and components at the communal house have been degraded and damaged. Nghe An province has included the restoration of Hoanh Son communal house in the medium-term investment plan for 2021-2025, which has just been implemented.

The project aims to renovate and embellish the main communal house, build toilets, a shrine to burn votive papers, a stele, a ceremonial gate, a fence, technical infrastructure, purchase equipment and sacrificial objects, and be constructed within 3 years.

Panoramic view of Hoanh Son communal house before being demolished

According to the Department of Culture and Sports of Nghe An province, Hoanh Son communal house has been repaired many times, but this is the largest restoration since it was ranked. When demoted, the Department invited the Department of Cultural Heritage to evaluate, only some severely damaged structures that could not be restored had to be replaced, the rest were kept original to ensure the ancient features.

The construction unit assigned 15 skilled carpenters to be in charge of the sculpture section - the highlight of the communal house. For wooden structures that are damaged by termites at the foot or in the middle, the workers will cut off the damaged part, then use the corresponding wooden block to glue it back together.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, resident of Nam Loc commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An, has been working in carpentry for more than 25 years, shared that the wooden details in the communal house are carved very delicately. During the restoration process, he and the workers had to be careful and gentle so as not to affect the wooden carvings. " For damaged wooden parts, we will remove the damaged parts and take new wood of the same type and size to fill in with glue. The most difficult part is the partially damaged wooden carvings. We have to re-carve the corresponding motifs and then put them back together," Mr. Quang added.

After being renovated, Hoanh Son Communal House will be a place of worship, community activities, and the organization of major local festivals, developing tourism.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/chi-24-ti-trung-tu-ngoi-dinh-co-gan-300-tuoi-ben-bo-song-lam-115618.html