Pha That Luang

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Pha That Luang in Vientiane - The national symbol of Laos in the evening light

Pha That Luang ( Laotian ພະ ທາດ ຫລວງ , [ pʰa tʰâːt lǔːaŋ ], large stupa or holy royal relic , also That Luang for short ) is a large Buddhist stupa in Vientiane ( Laos ) from the 16th century.

According to legend, a mon sanctuary was originally located here . Other legends tell that emissaries from King Ashoka around the year 307 BC. Brought a relic of the Buddha here. Yet another legend claims that two Nagas resided here.

history

When King Sai Setthathirath I moved his capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, he is said to have commissioned the construction of a stupa on the ruins of a Khmer temple from the 13th century. The stupa was inaugurated by the king in 1566 under the name "Loka-Chulamani". A temple was then built in each of the four cardinal points, of which only Wat That Luang Nuea (the residence of the Supreme Patriarch of the Laotian Sangha ) in the north and Wat That Luang Tai in the south of That Luang still exist today.

During the Siamese conquest in 1828, the Pha That Luang was badly damaged, and further destruction was caused by a lightning strike in 1896. As early as 1900, the building was restored by the École française d'Extrême Orient on behalf of the French colonial government . However, this structure was revised in the 1930s and the colonial government began to rebuild the stupa true to the original. The detailed drawings by the French architect and researcher Louis Delaporte , who visited Vientiane in 1867 as a member of the Mekong Exploration Commission, served as a template for the new reconstruction .

architecture

The monument is surrounded by a square, inwardly open, covered walkway, in which some statues in Khmer and Lao styles are placed. The stupa stands on three terraces that become smaller towards the top , each of which is supported on the outside by large, stylized lotus petals. The next step can be reached through gates on the four sides. The lowest terrace is 68 m × 69 m in size, the surrounding wall is decorated with 323 votive stones at the top. The second terrace is 48 x 48 m. There are another 288 votive stones here. 30 miniature stupas are set up on the top terrace. The actual base of the stupa measures 30 m × 30 m. The top of the 45 m high structure represents a stylized banana blossom.

Illustrations

  • The inside of the temple

  • View over the tips of the lotus petals and the votive stones to the miniature stupas and That Luang

  • The Nagas inside the temple

Web links

Commons : Pha That Luang  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Martin H. Petrich: Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos . Dumont Art Guide, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 978-3-7701-4398-6

Coordinates: 17 ° 58 ′ 34.2 "  N , 102 ° 38 ′ 3.3"  E