Five historical districts of Gyeongju City. District Wolson (월성 지구)

irisworld (64)in #swmchallenge • 6 years ago (edited)

The pride of the Wolson district is the ruins of the fortress wall of Wolson and the fortress of Panvolson (반월성) or the Fortress of the semicircle of the moon.

Wolson

The fortress wall was erected in 101, when the state bore the name of Silla. Until 935 on this place was the royal palace. Then the area of the territory of Wolson was almost 200 thousand square meters. meters.

Ice storage Sokpingo

In the north of the fortress, more than a millennium ago, the ice storage Sokpingo (석빙고) was built. Half of the storage is underground. To protect the storage from moisture, the walls were covered with limestone.

The Mystical Forest of Kerim

In the south of the Panvolson Fortress is the Kerim Forest (계림). This forest is associated with the legend of the birth of a small boy, Alji, who later became the founder of the Kim clan in Gyeongju. According to legend, one day a roar of cocks came from the forest. Then the king sent his servant into the forest to find out what it was. The servant found in the woods a golden box in which lay a little boy. The king adopted a child and gave him the name Alzhi. And the forest itself was called Karim, which meant "rooster". In 1803, on the territory of the forest, a stone monument was erected to the founder of the Kim clan.

Anapchi pond at night

Going to the east of the fortress, you can see the palace of Tongun (동궁) and the beautiful pond Anapchi (안압지) or the "pond of geese and ducks". According to the legends of the "Three States", by order of the king, an artificial pond was dug here, flowers and trees were planted from all over the world. Also, beautiful birds were brought in. Silla wanted to create here a "paradise". Initially, the pond was called Volchi (월지), and its modern name was given under the rule of the Joseon Dynasty.

The Chomseongdae Astronomical Observatory

And in 10 minutes from the pond is the astronomical observatory of Chhomsonde (첨성대). This observatory is one of the oldest in East Asia. It was built under the rule of Silla in the 7th century. The legend says that the observatory was built of 362 pieces of granite, which corresponds to 362 days of the lunar year. And the square and round forms of the observatory embody the sky and the earth. The height of the tower is 9.4 places.

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