Sunday 16 September 2018

Wat Phra Singh (Waramahavihan)


Wat Phra Singh - วัดพระสิงห์วรมหาวิหารis a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol, the older brother of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, bestowed on it the status of Royal temple of the first grade in 1935.



"Wat Phra Singh was founded in 1345 by King Phayu who built the temple to house the ashes of his father. This was a time when a number of different kings ruled in the various regions of what is now Thailand. From 1578 to 1774 the northern Lanna kingdom came under the control of the Burmese and Wat Phra Singh was abandoned and fell into disrepair. 



The temple was restored under King Kawila who became the ruler of Chiang Mai in 1782. King Kawila built the ubosot (ordination hall) and enlarged the chedis with his successors continuing the work by restoring the Wiharn Lai Kham and the temple library. The whole temple complex at Wat Phra Singh underwent extensive renovations in the 1920s. 



More recently, work was carried out in 2002 and the chedis which had previously been painted white underwent a makeover in 2016 to give them a golden-coloured covering."

text courtesy of Roy Cavanagna - Thaizer. Visit the site for wonderful information.



The Wat area is enormous and there is so much to discover. There are a number of perfectly kept gardens. 



Then there are the trees with the messages on them - quite special.



A great many Chedi which are of different sizes.



There is a small temple which houses a reclining Buddha which is really quite mysterious.



The ornate windows around the temple are a wonderful thing just to admire.




This is along with the old ornate paintings on the walls.



There is a 20 Baht entrance fee for no Thais - definitely worth visiting.

 


No comments:

Post a Comment