Tây Đô castle

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Tây Đô castle (Vietnamese: Thành Tây Đô; also called Hồ castle or Tây Giai castle) is a citadel in Vietnam, constructed by the Hồ Dynasty (1400-1407). Its name comes from the Sino-Vietnamese 西都, meaning "western capital," and Thành comes from the Sino-Vietnamese 城, meaning "castle."

It is located in Tây Giai commune, Vĩnh Lộc district, in Thanh Hóa Province, in Vietnam's North Central Coast region. Its coordinates at 20°05′N 105°35′E / 20.083°N 105.583°E / 20.083; 105.583Coordinates: 20°05′N 105°35′E / 20.083°N 105.583°E / 20.083; 105.583.

Tây Đô castle is rectangular in shape. Its north-south side is 870.5 m in length and its east-west side is 883.5 m in length. There are four gates: one at the south (fore gate), one at the north (back gate), one at the east (left gate), and one at the west (right gate). The southern gate is 9.5 m high and 15.17 m wide.

The castle was constructed from stone blocks, each of which is 2 m x 1 m x 0.70 m size on average.

Except for its gates, the castle is mostly ruined.