The Royal Palace (officially Haw Kham, ) in

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

, Laos, was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. The site for the palace was chosen so that official visitors to Luang Prabang could disembark from their river voyages directly below the palace and be received there. After Sisavang's death, the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Savang Vatthana Sisavang Vatthana () or sometimes Savang Vatthana (full title: ''Samdach Brhat Chao Mavattaha Sri Vitha Lan Xang Hom Khao Phra Rajanachakra Lao Phengdara Parama Sidha Khattiya Suriya Varman Brhat Maha Sri Savangsa Vadhana''; 13 November 1907 � ...

and his family were the last to occupy the grounds. In 1975, the monarchy was overthrown by the

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

, and the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

were taken to re-education camps. The palace was then converted into a national museum.

Grounds

On the palace grounds, there are buildings surrounding the palace, including: * kitchen / storage * royal barge shelter * conference hall * Haw Phra Bang * staff headquarters There is a lotus pond and two cannons at the entrance of the palace. A statue of Sisavang Vong stands outside the conference hall.

Architecture and furnishings

The architecture of the palace has a mix of traditional Lao motifs and French Beaux-Arts styles. It is laid out in a double-cruciform shape, with the entrance on one side of the lower crossbar. Above the entrance is a three-headed elephant sheltered by the sacred white parasol, the symbol of the Lao monarchy. The steps to the entrance are made of Italian marble. There are royal religious objects on display in the large entrance hall. On the right of the entrance is the king's reception room, where busts of the

Luang Phrabang Luang Prabang ( Lao: ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Luang Prabang Province in north-central Laos. I ...

and later, Lao monarchs are displayed along with two large gilded and lacquered

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

screens, crafted by local artisan Thit Tanh. The walls are covered with murals that depict scenes from traditional Lao lifestyles, painted in 1930 by French artist Alix de Fauntereau. Each of the walls is intended to be viewed at a different time of day, depending on the light that enters the windows on one side of the room, which matches the time of day depicted. In the right front corner room of the palace, which opens to the outside, is a collection of the palace's most prized art, including the

Phra Bang The Phra Bang (, ; , , "Royal Buddha Image in the Dispelling Fear mudra") is a statue of Buddha in the city of Luang Prabang, Laos; it is the namesake of that city. The statue stands at , with palms facing forward, cast using ''thong'', an alloy ...

, cast of a gold, silver, and bronze alloy. This

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

stands 83 cm tall and weighs around 50 kg. Legend has it that the statue was made around the 1st century in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and was later gifted by the Khmer king to his son-in-law King Fa Ngum, in 1359. The Siamese twice took the image to Thailand, in 1779 and 1827, but it was returned to Laos by

King Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization initiatives and diplomat ...

in 1867. The room includes another Buddha, engraved with large elephant tusks, and three beautiful saew mâi khán (embroidered silk screens with religious imagery) that were crafted by the queen. On the left of the entrance hall, the secretary's reception room is filled with paintings, silver, and china that have been presented to Laos as diplomatic gifts from Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Japan, Vietnam, China, Nepal, the United States, Canada, and Australia. These objects are grouped by "socialist" and "capitalist" countries. One exhibit donated by the US is a piece of

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth ...

obtained by an

Apollo mission The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

. The next room to the left was once the queen's reception room. Large royal portraits of King Savang Vatthana, Queen Khamphoui, and

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Vong Savang Vong Savang (; 27 September 1931 – 2 May 1978) was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Laos. After the Laotian Civil War in 1975, he and his family were arrested by the Pathet Lao and sent to re-education camps, where they died. Early life He wa ...

, painted by Russian artist

Ilya Glazunov Ilya Sergeyevich Glazunov (; 10 June 1930 – 9 July 2017) was a Soviet and Russian artist from Saint Petersburg. He was the founder of the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he also served as a rector up until his de ...

in 1967, are hung on the walls. There are friendship flags from China and Vietnam and replicas of sculpture from the Indian National Museum. In the far rooms are the

's bedrooms and living quarters. The bedrooms have been preserved as they were in 1975, when the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

was forced from the palace. There is a dining hall and a room that contains royal seals and medals. The

throne room A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...

contains the

crown jewels Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portra ...

of Laos.

Gallery

Palais-Musée.JPG, Front view of the palace Luang Prabang Museum.jpg, Haw Pha Bang 20171111 Luang Prabang National Museum 1327 DxO.jpg, Luang Prabang National Museum Buddhist temple at Royal Palace in Luang Prabang.jpg, Temple at Royal Palace La-luang-palast.jpg,

Literature

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External links

{{Royal palaces in Laos Palaces in Laos Royal residences in Laos Museums in Laos History museums Buildings and structures in Luang Prabang