Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya

THAILAND, Surat Thani

Chaiya is one of the oldest cities in southern Thailand and was one of the trading cities of the Srivijaya Empire (circa 7th–13th century). The temple is located on the outskirts of Chaiya. The exact year of its construction is unknown. The Great Stupa, which holds the relics of the Buddha, was built between the 9th and 10th centuries. The temple underwent a number of renovations and restorations before Burmese forces destroyed it during the time of King Rama I (reigned 1782–1809). It was reconstructed during the reign of King Rama V (reigned 1868–1910) and the temple has been continuously maintained since then. In 1957 it was listed as a first class royal temple.
The Great Stupa is the most important structure of this temple. This stupa is built on top of a pond. It has a square base and is surrounded by many smaller stupas. The shape of the stupa body is distinctive: it is pyramidal in form and consists of three tiers with miniature stupas uniformly distributed on them. There is a portico surmounted by an elaborately carved tympanum on each side of the first tier, but there is only one real entrance. On the top two tiers there are decorated tympana of various sizes. The hexagonal bell-shaped base of the spire is supported by a gilded lotus. The spire is made up of hexagonal stacked rings followed by the pointed apex. The finial consists of a gilded canopy and jewels.
Within the temple courtyard there are numerous Buddha statues and a few smaller stupas, as well as the Chaiya National Museum. The museum has a collection of many historical objects found in the temple and within the ancient city of Chaiya, including a life-size seated Buddha statue made of sandstone from the Dvaravati period (circa 6th–13th century), boundary stones from the Sukhothai period (circa 1238–1438), and Buddha sculptures made of red sandstone from the Ayutthaya period (circa 1350–1767).