Tran Temple is in Tuc Mac hamlet, Loc Vuong commune out of Nam Dinh citadel. Tran temple consists of Thien Truong (the upper temple) and Co Trach (the lower temple) built close to each other, which previously were in the center of Royal step-over place of Thien Truong. Thien Truong temple is the worshipping place of 14 kings if the Tran.

The legend goes it that in 1239, Kinh Tran ordered Phung Ta Chu oversee the construction of a palace in this area. Te Trac, a contemporary person, described this palace: “Tide surrounds the palace, flavor of flowers pervades the air, many beautifully decorated boats come back and forth, all look like a fairyland”.

 

Tuc Mac was the largest palace in the period of Tran Dynasty, ever destructed by invaders. In this scenic spot, archaeologists have uncovered many important remains. Drainage tiles and bricks were at 0.20-0.30m underground around Tran temple. In the exploration in 1976, at 0.3m in depth, archaeologists found the bed with bricks of the vestige. The fields of over two hectares surrounding the temple were relevant to many historical names such as Kho Nhi, Noi Cung, and Cua Trieu. In the historical areas, many relics such as pottery, grey enamel, and dragonheads, earthen phoenix heads, flowered enameled tiles, shoe-tip-tiles for the decoration and construction works and household utensils such as bowl, dishes, and terra-cotta jar. For some kinds of dishes, bottoms were carved the sentence of “Thien Truong phu che”.

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Courtesy of Nam Dinh Portal