Haw Phra Kaew

Haw Phra Kaew in Vientiane was originally built in the sixteenth century to house the revered Emerald Buddha, which was later carried off to Bangkok, leaving the temple as a monument to that lost treasure. Rebuilt in the twentieth century, it now serves as a museum of Lao religious art rather than an active place of worship. Its terrace is lined with bronze Buddha images, carved doors and stone steles, and a small garden surrounds the elegant, colonnaded hall.