Wat Phra Singh
Monastery of the Lion Buddha, Chiang Mai, Thailand
View of Wat Phra Singh from the entrance with the huge Viharn Luang.
This tourist attraction is located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. For information on Chiang Mai, go to Chiang Mai Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to Thailand, read also the Thailand Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation there? Use AsiaExplorers Budget Accommodation Guide, the no-frills website to cover your budget accommodation needs.
Wat Phra Singh Travel Info
Wat Phra Singh, or Monastery of the Lion Buddha, is one of two major temples within the Old City quarters of Chiang Mai. I visited it when I was Old City of Chiang Mai by foot with members of AsiaExplorers. Wat Phra Singh contains two of the finest extant Lanna buildings in Thailand. Also housed here are exquisite mural painting.
Wat Phra Singh was started in 1345 when King Pha Yu, the 7th king of the Mangrai dynasty, built a chedi to enshrine the ashes of his father King Kham Fu. Two years later, a viharn (assembly hall) and other buildings were added. At that time, the monastery was known as Li Chiang Phra. It was renamed Wat Phra Singh in 1367, when the Phra Sihing Buddha image was installed there.
Wat Phra Singh fell into disrepair in the 18th Century, coinciding with a time when the city of Chiang Mai itself was weakened by repeated attacks by the Burmese. Once after Chiang Mai was reoccupied by Chao Kawila was it repaired. Chao Kawila's successor, Chao Thammalangka decorated the interior walls of the Viharn Lai Kham with murals that are today famous.
In the 1920's, Wat Phra Singh underwent another round of extensive renovation under the monk Khru Bu Srivichai, who added the large modern vihard that today dominates the entrance from the east. This new viharn replaces the original viharn which was built between 1385 and 1400. However, the new viharn has little architectural value. It houses a large seated Buddha facing east. At the rear of the building, perhaps of greater historic interest, is a bronze Buddha given by two monks to Chao Kawila for his own use.
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