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 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 center of the citadel and faces east. All buildings of the palace are of one story in height. The number of spires above a building indicated the importance of the area below.

The Mandalay Palace was the primary royal residence of King Mindon and King Thibaw, the last two kings of the country. The palace ceased being on 28 November 1885 when the British entered the palace and captured the royal family, officially ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War. The British looted the palace, and turned the palace compound into Fort Dufferin. Throughout the British colonial era, the palace was seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol sovereignty and identity. Much of the palace compound was burned down during World War II by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.

Today, the Mandalay Palace is a primary symbol of Mandalay and a major tourist destination.

Names

The Mandalay Palace's formal name in Burmese is Mya Nan San Kyaw ( ; "The Famed Royal Emerald Palace"). It is...
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