Wat Haw Phra Kaew—Vientiane City, Laos - Buddhist Temples and Public Shrines on Waymarking.com

Wat Haw Phra Kaew was built between 1565 and 1556, on the orders of King Lao (Vientiane) King Setthathirath. It was originally used as the personal temple of the various Lao royal families. Also, the temple at one time housed the Emerald Buddha, an important Buddhist relic, which has been the instigator of much strife over the centuries. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times, rebuilt most recently in 1930s by the French colonial government. it is unstated, but the temple shows signs of recent renovation.

The Wat now stands in central Vientiane. It consists of large and well landscaped grounds. The ordination hall is large and impressive and contains excellent examples of Lao Buddhist sculpture. Part of the hall is a small museum. The larger part functions as a wat. Photography is not permitted in either. There are several stone artefacts in the grounds, which look severely worn, these may be original pieces, however, there is no provenance available.

This is one of the sights on the Vientiane tourist circuit.

Open to visitors?: Yes Photography Permitted Inside?: No Statue of the Buddha present?: Yes Related Website: [Web Link]

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Photos of the shrine are strongly encouraged when permitted otherwise please refrain from taking pictures inside and in any case, generally have respect for the religious nature of the site.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/16/2017 franketmuriel visited it