The former Royal Palace, now turned into a museum is situated on the banks of the Mekong river, facing the sacred Mount Phousi. Locally the Palace is known as the Haw Kham or Ho Kham, which translates to “Golden Palace”.
The museum houses the Phra Bang, the country’s most sacred Buddha image, which is kept in a richly ornamented shrine.
The Palace was built between 1904 and 1909 during the time of French colonial occupation as the residence of the Laos Royal Family.
It was built to replace the old Palace after the city had been largely destroyed and looted in 1887 by the Black Flag Army, a militia group from China. While the old Palace was made of traditional building materials like teak wood, the new Palace was made of brick. Its style is a mix of French Beaux Arts and traditional Laos style. When in 1975 the communist Pathet Laos party came to power ending the Laos monarchy, the Royals were forced to leave the Palace, after which it was turned into the National Museum.
Exhibition rooms of the Palace Museum
An avenue lined with palm trees leads to the main entrance on Sisavangvong road. A grand marble staircase with a canon on either side gives access to the Palace Museum. The pediment above the entrance contains a stuccoed depiction of the three headed elephant Airavata ridden by the Hindu God Indra. The golden elephant is sheltered by the White Parasol, a symbol of Royalty and is surrounded by mythological Naga serpents.
Royal Palace Museum