Geumcheongyo Bridge of Changdeokgung Palace

Geumcheongyo Bridge spans the myeongdangsu, the auspicious watercourse that flows between Donhwamun Gate and Jinseonmun Gate at Changdeokgung Palace. This watercourse, called Geumcheon (the "forbidden stream"), ran from north to south, passing to the right of Donhwamun Gate before leaving the palace grounds. Along the banks of this royal moat a retaining wall was built by neatly stacking six to seven courses of granite, and Geumcheongyo Bridge was set into it to allow passage into the palace. Geumcheongyo Bridge was built in the third month of 1411, the eleventh year of King Taejong's reign, six years after the founding of Changdeokgung Palace, in the moat outside Jinseonmun Gate. Despite numerous fires and wars since then, it retains its appearance from the time of its construction. It is the oldest stone bridge surviving within a Korean palace. Its dimensions were set to match the width of the royal procession when the king travelled in full ceremonial array; the upper surface measures 12.9 m in length and 12.5 m in width, giving it a shape close to a square. Structurally it consists of two arches built on foundation stones set at the centre and edges of the streambed; the retaining walls along the banks act as buttresses, and lintel stones shaped like long rectangular blocks rest atop the arches. The bridge's upper surface is gently convex and divided into three bays, each floored evenly with long rectangular stones. At the edges of the bridge stand corner posts carved with animal figures. The balustrade consists of newel posts decorated at the top with a lotus-and-jewel finial, connected by stone slabs. Each slab is divided into two sections centred on a relief carving in the form of a lotus-leaf-and-child post, with a cusped panel motif carved in openwork in each section. Beneath each newel post, a stone projecting from the lintel is carved in the round with an animal's head. On the side walls between the arches, goblin-mask motifs are carved in relief, and on the foundation stones below them stand animal figures carved in the round, a haetae, a mythical lion-like guardian beast, to the south and a turtle to the north, symbolically evoking the atmosphere of the Geumcheon. It is the oldest stone bridge remaining in present-day Seoul, and as a double-arched bridge notable for the symbolic carvings that convey the dignity of the palace, its beautiful patterns, and its solid and dignified construction technique, it holds outstanding historical, artistic and architectural value.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물