Temple of Emerald Buddha in Laos

Wat Phrakeo (Temple of Emerald Buddha) was built in 1563 during the reign of King Sayasetthathirath or Chaichettha ~ (1548-1571) to house the Emerald Buddha. It was originally a noted architectural marvel of the Lao people.
Today, Wat Phrakeo has been converted to a National Museum. It houses extremely valuable objects. It contains Buddha images of different periods, Pali manuscripts on palm leaf strips, Khmer inscriptions and other antiques.

Phrakeo Buddha was brought from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang by King Sayasetthathirath (He was a king of both LanXang and Lanna Kingdoms. His mother was a daughter of Chiang Mai's king). The Emerald Buddha remained in Luang Prabang for 12 years. When he moved LanXang's capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane (Vieng Chan) in 1563, he also brought with him the Emerald Buddha and it remained at Wat Phrakeo in Vientiane for 214 years.

In 1778, the Siamese invaded LanXang Kingdom, they ransacked and burned Vientiane, stealing valuables from all temples in Vientiane (except Sisaket Temple). They also took with them the Emerald Buddha from Wat Phrakeo in Vientiane to Thonburi, Siam. The Emerald Buddha was then moved from Thonburi to Wat Phrakeo in Bangkok in March 22, 1784, and has remained there ever since.


Further reading

• A Brief history of Lan Xang Kingdom
• A brief history of Lan Na Kingdom
• The history of Emerald Buddha

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