Little now remains of the former royal citadel of Thăng Long (Hà Nội). A citadel existed at the site - originally known as Đại La - from at least the 7th century, but not until the 11th century did it become the capital of the Việt. In 1010 Lý Thái Tổ, the founder of the Lý dynasty, removed the court from Hoa Lư in present-day Ninh Bình Province to Đại La, which was subsequently expanded and renamed Thăng Long Citadel. It was to remain the royal capital until 1802, when Nguyễn Ánh took the throne as King Gia Long (1802-1819), transferring the royal seat of government to Huế, downgrading Thăng Long to the status of a provincial capital and changing its name to Thăng Tinh, removing the word 'Long', which was regarded as a royal symbol. In 1805 the ancient northern citadel was rebuilt according to Vauban principles, on a smaller scale than before, with five gates, none of which faced south. In 1831 Gia Long's son Minh Mạng (1820-1840) once more changed the name of the city, this time to Hà Nội ('city within two rivers') and in 1848 Tự Đức (1847-1883) further reduced its importance by ordering the destruction of most of its royal palaces and the removal of many articles of value to Huế. Following the colonial conquest, the French symbolically took over the citadel, destroying most of the remaining buildings and replacing them with military barracks and depots. It has remained the headquarters of the People's Army (and latterly of the Ministry of Defence) ever since, though at the time of writing the entire 49,135 square kilometre site is being transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Hà Nội People's Committee with a view to conducting archaeological work and finally opening the citadel up to the public as a tourist attraction before the Hà Nội 1,000 celebrations in 2010. The Bắc Môn (north gate) of the Nguyễn-dynasty citadel has already been unveiled to the public and restoration work has also been carried out on the Đoan Môn (main gate) and Hậu Lâu (Princess's Palace); the central attraction in future years however will undoubtedly be the Kính Thiên Palace, the only major structure to escape the destruction. In 2003 work to lay the foundations of a new National Assembly building at a 21,400 square metre site to the west of the 18th century citadel perimeter was halted when excavations led to the largest and most spectacular archaeological find in Việt Nam's history - foundations of ancient royal palaces, including one structure 1,000 square metres in size, a drainage system, wells and traces of an ancient river and lake, plus tens of thousands of artefacts, many dating back to the first millennium CE and most in an excellent state of preservation. Given the significance of this find, it was quickly decided to relocate the new National Assembly of Việt Nam building to an alternative site near the Mỹ Đình National Stadium. An exhibition of many of the most important artefacts uncovered at the site was toured around the country in early 2004. At the time of going to press the Prime Minister has requested the Ministry of Culture and Information and other relevant government agencies to seek UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the entire site before the 1000th anniversary of Hà Nội in 2010.