Wat Phra Singh description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai (Topic)

Wat Phra Singh description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Wat Phra Singh.

Photo and description

Wat Phra Singh, or otherwise the Temple of the Lion Buddha (translated from Thai "singh" - "lion"), is rightfully the most important temple in the city. It contains two of the most valuable medieval statues.

The temple was founded in 1345 by King Phra Yu to bury the ashes of his father, King Kham Phu. Its official name Wat Phra Singh received in 1367, when the statue of the same name of Phra Singh, or Buddha the Lion, was placed in it. In 1922, the head of the Buddha was stolen, it was replaced with an identical copy.

The second relic of the Phra Sing temple is the statue of Buddha Phra Singha Noi (aka “the small Buddha Phra Sing”). This is a miniature copy of Phra Singh Buddha, made by Phaya Tilokaraj (ninth king of the Mengrai dynasty) in 1477 in honor of the Eighth Buddhist Assembly.

At one of the periods, the temple also housed a statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is now kept in Bangkok as the country's main relic.

Despite the cultural value of the temple, in the 18th century it almost fell into ruins due to a decrease in population , however, restoration began in the 19th century.

The central building on the territory of Wat Phra Singh - Viharn Luang - was rebuilt in 1925, and restored in 2008. Its interior decoration is impressive with a combination of a bright red painted ceiling and majestic snow-white columns.

The smaller room of Wat Phra Singh, called Viharn Lai Kham, was built in 1345 and restored in the early 19th century. The building is a fine example of northern Lanna architecture. It is in it that Buddha Phra Singh is located, to see which many Buddhists in Thailand seek. Inside Viharna Lai Kham, beautiful frescoes (circa 1820) have been preserved, illustrating stories from the ancient Buddhist scriptures of Jataka.

On the territory of Wat Phra Singh there is a Buddhist library, built in 1477. Inside it contains ancient manuscripts, and outside the library is skillfully decorated with figures of Buddhist spirits.

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Topic: Wat Phra Singh description and photos - Thailand: Chiang Mai.