Wat Chiang Man

Wat Chiang Man was built in 1297 CE as the first temple of Chiang Mai on the location of Wiang Nopburi, a fortified town of the Lawa people which had been used by King Mangrai as a camp during the construction of his new capital city Chiang Mai. Chedi Chang Lom – the ‘Elephant Chedi’ is the oldest, The square base supports a second level which has the front half of 15 life-sized brick-and-stucco elephants. The elephants seem to carry the upper levels of the building on their backs. The gilded upper part of the chedi contains a bell shaped relic chamber. Main Wihan – the larger of the two wihans. The building houses a large mondop structure for an altar surrounded by Buddha statues. One of the standing Buddha’s has the year 1465 CE engraved on its base, which would make it the oldest statue of the Lanna Kingdom. New Wihan – the smaller of the two wihans houses two important statues of the Buddha which, due to their protective powers, are regarded as the Palladium statues of Chiang Mai: The Phra Sae Tang Khamani is also known as the ‘Phra Kaew Khao’ or ‘Crystal Buddha’. This 10 cm tall statue is carved out of a clear quartz crystal. The statue was crafted around 200 CE for King Ramraj of Lopburi and brought to the Hariphunchai Kingdom (present day Lamphun) by Queen Jamadevi in 662 CE. It was only transferred to Chiang Mai by King Mangrai in 1296 after he had conquered Lamphun. As it survived the pillaging of that city, the statue is thought to protect against disasters. The gold covered wooden base and golden canopy are later additions donated by King Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai in 1874. Together they contain more than 6 kg of gold. The Phra Sila statue a standing Buddha whilst taming the elephant ‘Nalagiri’ . Ubosot – in front of the ubosot one can find a stone stele from the year 1581 CE. It also mentions that the ubosot was commissioned by King Mangrai and that Phya Saen Luang had it restored in 1571. The present building was built in the 19th century. Ho Trai – the Temple Library of Wat Chiang Man It is a wooden building set on top of a high plastered brick base.