If the lighthouse, night market, and Back Beach are familiar attractions in Vung Tau city, the ancient weapons museum is still quite unfamiliar to many tourists, including locals. Because few people think that a domestic coastal tourist city can possess such a unique and strange treasure.
Following the winding slope leading to the famous lighthouse of Vung Tau city, visitors will be overwhelmed by a house that looks like a new castle. That is the location of the ancient weapons museum (or Worldwide Arms Museum) opened in early 2012 and holds the record for the largest private ancient weapons museum in Vietnam.
The museum is located in a luxurious villa on the way up to the lighthouse.Photo: quangduc20
Located on a high hill and only about 50 meters from the sea, the museum is really a good viewing spot with a view embracing the whole city. The first impression is that there is a large courtyard with a wall like a solid fortress and a classic Western-style watchtower. Besides the cannons placed on the wall, there are also more than a dozen gun mounts facing the sea throughout the yard. That is enough to make visitors feel like they are visiting an ancient architectural work in Europe.
Stepping inside, whether you are a museum lover or simply curious about the ancient arsenal, you cannot take your eyes off the artifacts displayed here. With an area of 300 m2, people can see with their own eyes in the museum the military uniforms and combat weapons of armies from around the world such as Japan, China, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Russia... over many centuries.
Panoramic view of Vung Tau from the museumPhoto: quangduc20
To help visitors better visualize the history of the armies of many countries in the world, the museum space is divided into rooms with separate themes in chronological order. Room 1 is the area for the ancient to medieval period with Viking warriors, Spartans, Chinese warriors through the ages, Japanese samurai and shoguns, Roman army, Hoplite army, crusaders, gladiators... In particular, there are also some swords and guns of the Muong people (Vietnam) in the 19th century.
Room 2 is the area for the British army of the early modern period with postmen, buglers, infantry, cavalry, navy, and the Queen's cavalry. On the same floor but in room 3 is the space displaying guns of the British, French, German, Dutch armies... from the 17th-19th centuries such as pistols, pistols, rifles, muskets...
Room 4 is where visitors can admire military uniforms and weapons of European countries in the modern period. Visitors can even see some modern weapons of Russia and England right in this museum.
Mannequins with rare ancient weapons in the museum.Photo: quangduc20
The journey of several hours to visit the weapons museum seems dry and rigid but is extremely interesting when it brings visitors from one surprise to another. That is when you can explore the culture of each country through the weapons with sophisticated patterns carved on the artifacts.
Not only impressed by the richness and diversity, the weapons in the museum also bring interesting lessons through historical stories specifically annotated in Vietnamese and English. If you are not a person who likes long history lessons, then surely when you come here, you will also find passion or love for this subject.
As a bright spot in Vung Tau's tourism picture, this private museum is currently experiencing some disputes over ownership and has had to temporarily close, leaving many regrets for visitors.
