In 1560, the capital of the Kingdom of Lan Xang was moved to Vien Chang, now known at Vientiane, from Luang Prabang by King Setthathirat. This was done to better protect the capital from inviding Burmese armies. The construction of the city took four years. As part of this construction, Haw Pha Kaew Temple was built to house the Emerald Buddha. In addition, Pha That Luang was built on top of the ruins of a 13th century Khmer Temple.
The following centuries involved numerous invasions by the Burmese, Siamese. The first western visitor, a Dutch merchant, Gerritt van Wuysthoff, arrived in the 1640s. He was followed by an Italian Jesuit missionary, Giovanni-Maria Leria. Father Leria stayed for five years but was never given permission to preach inside the kingdom. During this time Vien Chang remained a very isolated remote city. Most trade was conducted down the Mekong River to Cambodia or over land to the Siamese kingdom of Ayuthaya
With the death of King Surinyavongsa in 1695, the Kingdom was thrown into turmoil. The king left no heir and the Kingdom was eventually broken up into three principalities. Less than 100 years later, all three had fallen to the Siamese.
In 1778, a rebellion was started which resulted in King Taksin sending the Siamese military to Vien Chang. The city was looted and its sacred images, including the Emerald Buddha, were taken back to Siam. In addition, members of the Lao Royal Family were taken to Siam as hostages. Later, the Siamese King Rama I, took an interest in Lao affairs. Vien Chang was rebuilt and again began to grow.
Lao King Anouvong, also known as Chao Anou, grew up in Siam, but later moved back to Laos and in 1804 succeeded his two elder brothers to rule over the Kingdom of Lan Xang. King Anouvang attended the funeral of Thai King Rama II in Bangkok and was very insulted by the way he was treated. On his return to Vien Chang, he started to plan a revolt against Siam which finally took place in 1826. The revolt was unsuccesful and in 1827 Siamese military forces again invaded Vientiane and destroyed the city.
This time the destruction was almost total. The two original temples,
Haw Pha Kaew and Pha That Luang were decimated. Wat Si Saket was the only remaining temple to survive the destruction.
Finally in 1893, the modern state of Laos was created by the French with the majority of what used to be the Kingdom of Lan Xang becomming a part of Siam. The new capital was once again located at Vien Chang, now called Vientiane.
Since that time, the city has seen numerous changes in government with the latest coming when the city was 'liberated' by communist troops and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was formed in 1975.
Today Vientiane is still the capital of Laos although you probably wouldn't know it by just visiting. The city has a very small town feel to it and none of what you would normally expect from a capital. The city feels like it has been caught in a time warp preserving its charm and the charm of the people who live there.
The following pictures were taken in Vientiane, Laos in October and November of 2002 and April 2004.
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