The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Vientiane, Vientiane · 17.9631°, 102.6117°
Ordered by King Anouvong in 1818, this monastery is probably the oldest structure still standing in Vientiane, its cloister walls lined with more than two thousand ceramic and silver Buddha images beneath an ornate five-tiered roof. It may have survived the destruction that followed Anouvong's revolt of 1827 precisely because Siamese forces took it over as their headquarters; the French administration restored it in 1924 and 1930, and part of it now serves as a museum.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Kingdom of Vientiane