KEY FACTS
House of a noble family
Location: 25 kilometers away from the town of Tsedang
Construction dates: 16-17th centuries
ABOUT NAMSELING MANOR
The manor’s 22-meters high main building has 7 floors and it is the earliest multi-storied house in Tibet. It is located in Namseling Township, DraNang County, Tsedang Region.
The complex enclosed with a stone wall had the main building, chapel, stable, granary and a beautiful garden.
There are magnificent frescoes on the first floor, and a lot of it was restored. However, the main building still needs renovation and is currently closed for visitors.
HISTORY
Namseling was built during the Phakdru Dynasty, somewhere between the 16th and 17th century. During that time, Tibet was a feudal country, and one family owned the house.
Several important figures originated from this family, including monks from Dorje Drak Monastery.
In 1959 most of the complex and the garden were destroyed and looted. The walls of the main building remained. Nowadays it is the oldest surviving multi-storied building in Tibet.
Previously there were two walls surrounding the manor. Now only one wall stands enclosing the main building and a few small houses.
ARCHITECTURE
The elegant structure of Namseling is different from monasteries and temples architecture. It’s architectural style is typical for the manors of that time. Since no other large manors survived the cultural revolution, Namseling has high historical and architectural value.
The original main building of Namseling was4 floors high. However, later the new higher building was built, demonstrating refined Tibetan architecture. Different stages of construction of the manor show the development of Tibetan architectural style.
The one surviving wall still impresses. It stands about 10 meters high, 1 meter thick with watchtowers on its corners. The gate is about 3 meters wide. Right outside the wall there is a stone-lines trench about 5 meters wide. Four columns support the porch of the main building.
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