Description of the attraction
The former Vientiane temple of Hao Phra Kev is located a hundred meters from one of the most famous landmarks of the Lao capital - the temple of Wat Sisaket. It appeared on the territory of the old royal palace in 1565-1566 and was intended only for the royal family. Monks did not come here from different parts, which distinguished this temple from the rest of the sanctuaries of Vientiane.
King Settatirat, who had just made Vientiane his new capital, erected here a valuable statue of the Emerald Buddha brought from Chiang Mai. This image was in the temple for over 200 years, until in 1779 Vientiane was captured by the Siamese troops of General Chao Phraya Chakri, who founded the current royal Chakri dynasty in Thailand. The Hao Phra Kev Temple was destroyed, and the statue of the Emerald Buddha was taken to Thonburi, now a district of Bangkok, which in the past was a separate city. It is now at the Wat Phra Kaew shrine in Bangkok and is considered one of Thailand's treasures. Only at the end of the 20th century, the Thais presented Laos with a copy of the once stolen Emerald Buddha. In 1816, King Anouwong restored this temple and placed another image in it, created instead of the image of the Emerald Buddha.
When Laos revolted against Thailand, the Siamese again destroyed most of the buildings in Vientiane, including this temple. It was reconstructed by the French in 1936-1942.
In the 1970s, it was no longer used for sacred purposes. It has been turned into a museum displaying the finest examples of Laotian religious art. There are several Buddha statues on the terrace, including stone Buddhas dating back to the 6th-9th centuries. There are also bronze figures of standing and seated Buddhas of later periods. In the former hall, intended for holding ceremonies, various sacred objects are collected, as well as valuable manuscripts and ancient steles with texts in the language of the Mon civilization.
