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| Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao Lampang North Thailand |
- Wat
Phra Kaeo Don Tao is located in the city of Lampang and was constructed
by the first ruler of Lampang. It has a significant tall gilded Chedi
and Burmese styled roofed mondrop. In 1434 -1468 it was the home for
the Emerald Buddha, now housed in Bangkok at Wat Phra Kaeo.
- This is the
second major site in the region. Immediately behind it is Wat
Suchadaram constructed in 1804 and which incorporates Lao, Burmese and
Lan Na concepts of art and architecture. This typifies the workmanship
of Chiang Saen whose residents were resettled here by King Kavila after
the razing of Chiang Saen by the Burmese.
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- Today the oldest part of Lampang, where the most
interesting historical monuments are to be seen, lies to the north of
the River Wang, whilst the modern commercial town is to be found on the
south bank. For this reason the old part of the city is known locally
as Wiang Neua, or the “Northern Town”.
- Here the visitor will find Wat
Phra Kaeo Don Tao, the most important temple in the city, supposedly
founded by the first ruler of Lampang. The central chedi, which is
around 50 metres high, is believed to enshrine a hair of the Buddha.
For some years this eminent temple housed the famous Emerald Buddha,
palladium of the Thai Kingdom, long since moved to Wat Phra Kaeo in
Bangkok. Of particular interest is a Burmese-style mondop, or
square-shaped relic chamber, which was built in 1909 by Burmese
artisans in typical Mandalay style.
- Links with nearby Burma were in
fact particularly strong in the late 19th century, as Lampang was then
a major logging centre, and Burmese often, in fact, Shan migrants
flooded into the city to partake of the wealth teak created. At least a
dozen Buddhist temples were sponsored and largely constructed by these
relatively wealthy migrants, and their legacy lives on today both in
the unusual, distinctively Burmese temple architecture, and in the
temples themselves at least four local wats continue to have Burmese
abbots.
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