South Korea · 18th century
Hwaseong Fortress or Suwon Hwaseong (Korean: 수원 화성) is a Korean fortress surrounding the centre of Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was built from 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo of Joseon to house and honor the remains of his biological father, Crown Prince Sado. Sado had been executed by being locked in a rice chest by his father, King Yeongjo. Located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Seoul and enclosing much of central Suwon, the fortress includes King Jeongjo's temporary palace. The fortress and enclosed palace were designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. It comprises among many other features a perimeter wall, four main gates, and two sluicegates over the Suwoncheon, Suwon's main stream, which flows through the centre of the fortress.
Text adapted from “Hwaseong Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hwaseong Fortress ranks #207 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 57 mapped in South Korea. Founded 1794, it is older than 12% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 696 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 14,139 times in the last 60 days, more than 96% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Suwon, 1 km away. See how South Korea compares in the castle statistics.
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