In 1560, King Setthathirat (King Chaichettha in Thai) moved the capital of Lan Xang from Luang Prabang to it's current location at Vientiane. After moving the capital, the King built two primary temples in the city. Haw Pha Kaew Temple and Pha That Luang Temple.
Pha That Luang Temple was originally built on the ruins of a 13th century Khmer Temple. Like the rest of Vientiane, Pha That Luang was destroyed in 1828 by the Siamese Military. Pha That Luang was finally restored in the early 1900s by the new rulers, the French. The restoration was badly done and a second restoration was performed in the 1930s which restored it to it's original design.
That Luang holds a special meaning in Laos since it has come to be the symbol of the Lao nation. Even before the communist revolution, the Lao King would travel to the temple from Luang Prabang to attend the yearly That Luang Festival. Prior to the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1975, the national symbol of Laos was the three-headed elephant representing the Lao Royal Family. This was changed to the hammer and sickle after the communist revolution. In 1991, the symbol again changed to Pha That Luang temple.
This change took place at a time of crisis for the Lao government. Communism around the world was crumbling and Pha That Luang was again seen as a strong symbol that could bring the Lao people together. In the words of the Vice Minister of Information, 'That Luang recalls for us the grandeur of Laos, it was built at the height of Lane Xang... Destroyed and pillaged several times in the past centuries, each time it has been rebuilt to its initial speldour with love and patience by the Lao people. It symbolizes the preseverance and the generosity of the Lao people.' In a country that has had a very unstable past, Pha That Luang represents one of the few constants.
The following pictures were taken during two trips to the temple in November of 2002 and later in April, 2004.
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