GOLDEN BUDDHA

Description

Essentials about the Golden Buddha in brief

The Golden Buddha is one of the most fascinating sculptures in Thailand. It is the world’s largest Buddha made of gold. Its value is estimated at over 30 million dollars. The Golden Buhhda stands or (better said) sits in the Wat Traimit temple near Bangkok’s main train station Hua Lamphong.

The statue of the Golden Buddha

The Buddha statue was made over 700 years ago and was then probably located in Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom. It probably arrived in Ayutthaya in 1403, when the Kingdom of Ayutthaya became powerful enough to subjugate Sukhothai in the 15th century. At an unknown time, a plaster cloak was created around the golden Buddha to disguise its value and protect it from thieves. It probably remained in Wat Mahathat until King Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) had over 1,200 Buddha statues brought from all over the country to his new capital in Bangkok. It is likely that the Gold Buddha was among those statues initially placed in the temple of Wat Phra Chetuphon.

In 1955, extensive construction work was carried out on the temple grounds, which resulted in the plaster mantle cracking open to reveal pure gold. The statue is just over three meters high and weighs about 5.5 tons. It consists of 4% gold in the base and 40-80% in the body. At the same time, the 45 kilogram face is said to be pure gold. Part of the plaster mask can be seen in a glass case.

The building of the Golden Buddha

Since 2008, the Golden Buddha statue can be seen in a new building, the Phra Maha Mondop. It has three floors: the first and second floors each house a museum of the temple and the Samphanthawong district. Finally, the third floor houses the Golden Buddha.