Khon Kaen Pillar Shrine—Khon Kaen City, Thailand - Buddhist Temples and Public Shrines on Waymarking.com

A Lak Mueang or City Pillar Shrine (as it is known in English) is a Thai public shrine, which is or represents the tutelary diety of each province of the Kingdom of Thailand. Essentially, the shrine represents "good luck" and acts as a guardian for the good fortune of the region. The shrine consists of a central pillar, which is housed in a enclosing structure. This structure usually reflects the historical and cultural background of the province.

Each Shrine has great religious, social, and political importance, and are held in high regard by the local inhabitants. Before each shrine is a "prayer area", where locals and visitors can come by and make an offering to the shrine, ask for assistance, and seek good fortune in their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. Most Thai provinces have an official Shrine, and some districts within a province have their own, smaller shrine.

There are several different styles of lak mueang, however, they are normally located close to the centre of their city, the provincial capital, usually in or near the governmental precinct. There is a belief that the height of the pillar was the height of the founder of the city, and its diameter a multiple of his fist size. Some shrines contain historical records of the town, region, or the shrine itself.


The Shrine for the city of Khon Kaen lies in the city centre. Somewhat unusually, this is not the government precinct, however, the immediate vicinity of the shrine contains several other cultural and religious sites. The Shrine is clearly of recent construction. It is built in the Thai style—square shaped, colourful, with a high, curving, peaked roof. Inside there is a single pillar and a variety of Buddhist artefacts. I could not approach the shrine closely, due to a ceremony taking place at the time of my visit, however, the pillar is not the normal pillar design. It seems to be made of stone. There is an account that the pillar was given to the city by a Buddhist monk, but I could not find any supporting or additional information on this.

Open to visitors?: Yes Photography Permitted Inside?: Yes Statue of the Buddha present?: Yes Related Website: Not listed

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