Wat Si Sacket Temple

Wat Si Saket is a famous Buddhist temple in Vientiane, Laos. It is the last significant building of the kingdom of Vientiane, built by the order of the last king Chao Anu, and the only temple in the city that survived the destruction of 1827-1828. There is a temple near the embankment, on Seha Tirat Street, near the royal palace. The temple is more like a museum than an active religious place of worship.

The construction of the temple was begun in 1818 by order of King Chao Anu, and completed in 1824. Since the king spent his childhood in Bangkok, the architectural style of the temple was made closer to the Thai. After the Siamese attack on Vientiane in 1828, the temple remained the only intact building. Only on the western inner side of its walls were some of the statues damaged.

The temple is famous for its statues of Buddhas, made of clay and silver, wood and bronze, of which there are about 7000. The oldest of them belong to the XV century, the "young" - to the XIX century. They are located in niches along the inner perimeter of the wall that surrounds the temple. Inside the sacred hall is the main statue of Gautama Buddha of the XVIII century, which depicts a Buddha sitting under the hood of a large cobra. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with frescoes that depict scenes from the life of Gautama Buddha.