Wat Si Muang temple description and photos - Laos: Vientiane (Topic)

Wat Si Muang temple description and photos - Laos: Vientiane. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Wat Si Muang.

Photo and description

The small and modest temple of Wat Si Muang is located near the eastern entrance to the city center, on the road leading from the Friendship Bridge linking Laos with Thailand. It was built in 1563 on the ruins of a Hindu shrine of the Khmer Empire. We can say that the area where the Wat Si Muang temple is built is considered the oldest in Vientiane.

Not far from the temple, archaeologists have discovered several dozen foundations of buildings laid in 1540, that is, 20 years before the official date of the city's foundation. Behind the temple, you can see the remains of an ancient Khmer stupa. Here, it is believed, was sacrificed, according to one version, or voluntarily committed suicide, according to another, the pregnant widow Xi Muang, in honor of whom the temple got its name. Since then, the temple has been guarded by the spirit of Xi Muang, which helps all women who are expecting a child and the ladies who have been abandoned by their husbands. Those guests who do not fall into the categories of pregnant or abandoned can ask the spirit of luck. For this you need to make an offering to the temple. The easiest way to buy it is in the main yard. There are many merchants selling bananas, coconuts, flowers, incense and candles.

The interior of Si Muang Temple is richly decorated with frescoes, wood carvings and religious statues. The predominant colors in the decor are red and gold.

The sanctuary differs in its design from other Buddhist temples in Vientiane. It is split into two parts. In the first room, monks pray and bless the faithful. In the second room, located at the end of the temple, there is a city pillar that serves as an altar.

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Topic: Wat Si Muang temple description and photos - Laos: Vientiane.