Description of the attraction
The Chaiwattanaram Temple is one of the most famous temples in the city of Ayutthaya, once the largest city on the planet, the ancient capital of the kingdom of the same name. It, like the whole city, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wat Chaiwattanaram was built in 1630 by King Prasat Thong. It was the first temple during the reign of the king and was dedicated to his mother, who lived near the place of construction. Literally the name "Chayvattanaram" is translated as "a temple of long reign and a glorious era." The temple bore the title of royal, it was here that the members of the royal family held important ceremonies and it was here that their bodies were cremated.
Despite the fact that the temple itself is Buddhist, its architecture belongs to the Khmer style, which was popular during that period. Its characteristic feature is the phrang, an ear-shaped structure containing relics.
At the center of Vata Chaiwattanaram is a 35-meter phrang surrounded by four smaller ones. Approximately in the middle of the phrangs there are entrances to which steep stairs lead. The entire structure is located on a platform around which there are 8 domed chedi (stupas). On each of them there are bas-reliefs about the life of the Buddha, which must be viewed in a clockwise direction.
The entire structure of the temple is nothing more than a Buddhist view of the structure of the world. The central phrang symbolizes Mount Meru as the central axis of the world. There are four phrangs around it - four directions of light.
After the attack on Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767, the temple as well as the entire city was devastated. The theft of valuables, the barbaric destruction of Buddha statues was common at that time. Only in 1987 did the Department of Fine Arts begin the reconstruction of Vata Chaiwattanaram, and only in 1992 it was opened to the world.
