Wat Phia Wat (, ) is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

Khoune district Khoune, also known as Muang Khoun and formerly as Xiang Khouang, is a district ('' muang'') of Xiangkhouang province in north-central Laos. The district has four main ethnic groups: Lao, Hmong, Khmu, and O Du. Located 35 km southeast of Phon ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Overview

Wat Phiat Wat is located in Muang Khoun, the former capital of

Muang Phuan Muang Phuan (, ; ; Country of Phuan) or Xieng Khouang (, ; ), also known historically to the Vietnamese as Trấn Ninh (chữ Hán: 鎮寧; lit. "securement of peace"), was a historical principality on the Xiang Khouang Plateau, which constitut ...

in the 14th century. What Phia Wat is said to be constructed in 1322 by Chao Lan Kham Khong, in order to house the first Buddhist statue in

Xiangkhouang Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed place on Earth. Historically, ...

, which was brought over from

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. In 1375, invading Chinese forces destroyed the complex and cut off the arm of the Buddha statue, but the Wat was later rebuild. In 1953, Wat Phia Wat was again destroyed during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, but rebuild in 1954. Finally, the Wat was bombed by the US airforce during the

Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Wat Phia Wat collapsed, but the Buddha statue still survives, although suffering significant damage. A new temple was created after the war.

Gallery

File:20171115 Wat Phiawat in Muang Khoun 2605 DxO.jpg File:20171115 Wat Phiawat in Muang Khoun 2610 DxO.jpg File:20171115 Wat Phiawat in Muang Khoun 2614 DxO.jpg File:20171115 Wat Phiawat in Muang Khoun 2619 DxO.jpg File:Wat phiawat.jpg File:WatPiawat.JPG

References

Buddhist temples in Laos Buildings and structures in Xiangkhouang province 14th-century Buddhist temples {{Laos-Buddhist-temple-stub