Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (full name: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Ratcha Woraviharn , Thai วัด พระ ธาตุ ดอย สุ เทพ ราชวรวิหาร ) is a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in Chiang Mai , northern Thailand . It is a Royal Second Class Temple .
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is Chiang Mai's landmark and is located about 15 km west of the city center. The gilded chedi , which is said to contain a relic of the Buddha, is particularly well known . The temple complex itself can be reached via a long staircase, the railings of which are decorated with snakes.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is located on the slopes of Doi Suthep Mountain in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park . The 261.06 km² park was opened in 1981 as the 24th national park in Thailand .
Founding history
There are legends about the founding of Wat Doi Suthep. One says that in 1371 the monk Sumana from Sukhothai brought a relic of the Buddha with him, which was to be kept in Wat Suan Dok in the local chedi . However, the relic suddenly split. It did not seem promising to keep both parts there now. So the second part was attached to the back of a white elephant , which was then released. The elephant headed straight for Mount Doi Suthep, and after a three-day hike, during which it rested three times, it came to a ledge under which the hermit Wasuthep lived. There the elephant trumpeted three times, knelt and perished. So there was no doubt that this was the place to build a temple to keep the relic.
First a 7 meter high chedi was built, inside of which the relic was placed. During the reign of King Muang Kaeo in 1525, the chedi was enlarged to a height of 16 meters and received its current octagonal shape with a diameter at the base of 12 meters. A road to the temple was not built until 1935. This happened on the initiative of the famous monk Khru Ba Srivichai .
Attractions
- Naga Staircase - From the modern parking lot at the foot of the temple you can get to the temple precinct via a staircase with 200 steps, the railing of which is formed by the bodies of two huge Nagas . Stairs of this type are often seen in Lanna temples. These stairs were built in the 16th century by a certain "Phra Mekuti".
- Statue of the hermit Wasuthep in the forecourt.
- Glockenspiel - several rows of smaller bells hang in the forecourt, which the pilgrims one after the other struck with a wooden clapper.
- Bell tower ( Hor Rakhang ) - actually a gong tower , a gong about 2 meters in diameter hangs here in a round building made of gray marble .
- Statue of the white elephant in the forecourt.
- Walkway ( Phra Rabieng ) - The actual sanctuary of the temple is surrounded by an inwardly open gallery, which was built in 1806 during the reign of King Chao Kawila . The gallery is interrupted on the four sides by four buildings, two viharns and two smaller chapels. To the right and left of the viharn of the southwest wall there are two stairs that provide access from the lower to the upper terrace. On the inner walls of the walkway there are wall paintings from more recent times that describe the life of the Buddha.
- Viharn - there are murals on the inner walls of the southeastern viharn describing the legend of the founding of the temple.
- The golden chedi - the octagonal chedi is covered with gilded copper plates. It is surrounded by a square fence, the upper half of which is gold-plated. At the four corners there are filigree chats , ceremonial umbrellas in Burmese style, the cube-shaped bases of which are decorated with golden reliefs of the mythological elephant Erawan and mythological Siamese lions (Singha) , the golden standpipe is modeled on a bamboo tube .
impressions
The white elephant who found the temple's founding site.
Carillon in the forecourt, along the outer wall of the Phra Rabieng
The bell tower ( Hor Rakhang ) in the forecourt
Buddha figures on the edge of the large chedi
Crystal Buddha statue at the foot of the chedi
Statues in the viharn
View from Wat Doi Suthep over Chiang Mai
splendid ornamental roof on the plateau
literature
- Clarence Aasen: Architecture of Siam . Oxford University Press 1998, ISBN 983-56-0027-9
- Michael Freeman: Lanna - Thailand's Northern Kingdom . River Books, Bangkok 2001, ISBN 0-500-97602-3
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 48 ′ 18.7 ″ N , 98 ° 55 ′ 17.8 ″ E