Mingun Pagoda

MYANMAR, Sagaing, Mingun

The huge pagoda at Mingun is also known as Pahtodawgyi, meaning Magnificent Pagoda. It is located about 7 km northwest of Mandalay. Construction of the pagoda started in 1790 on the orders of King Bodawpaya (reigned 1782–1819). The Mingun Pagoda was planned as the largest building of that time. It was left unfinished when the king passed away in 1819, and only a third of the intended 152 m high structure was completed. The pagoda suffered considerable damage in the 1838 earthquake and in later earthquakes.
The height of the pagoda is 50 m and it stands on a square base platform measuring 41.9 m on each side. There are doorways on all four sides of the rectangular pagoda body. Inside are hundreds of glazed tiles with images of the Jataka tales, the Buddhist Councils, monks and sages, and temples in Myanmar.
To the north of the pagoda there is a huge bell weighing 90.5 t. It is 6 m high and has a circumference of 15.5 m. The bell was cast in 1808 and was at one time the heaviest functioning bell in the world. To the east of the pagoda are two 29 m high marble lions made in 1793. The construction of the pagoda, the bell, the lions, and the nearby lake were known as the Four Great Deeds of King Bodawpaya.