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Wat Traimit, also written Wat Trimit, or by its full name Wat Traimit Witthayaram Worawiharn, is a Buddhist temple in the Chinatown area of Bangkok, Thailand. Wat Traimit is known in English as the Temple of the Golden Buddha because it houses the world's largest solid gold Buddha statue.

The Golden Buddha is 4 meters in height, made of 18-carat gold, and weighs in at five tonnes. This magnificent image was made in the Sukhothai style, and thus is believed to date to the 13th century. It was discovered by accident in 1955, when workers of the East Asiatic Company were working to extend the port of Bangkok. They unearthed what seemed to be a plain stucco Buddha. In the process of moving it to Wat Traimit, it was accidentally "damaged", causing the stucco to flak off, revealing the gold Buddha underneath. It is believed that the Buddha was encased in plaster during Burmese raid of Ayutthaya, to prevent its discovery. The revelation caused a national frenzy to tap at plaster Buddhas in an attempt to look for more gold one. Nonetheless, Wat Traimit's is still the biggest, heaviest and most valuable - its weight in gold is estimated at US$10 million.

Wat Traimit is located about 200 meters from the Hualamphong Railway Station, along Thanon Tri Mit. It was built in 1939, and was originally known as Wat Sam Chin, meaning Three Chinese Temple - so named because three Chinese donors contributed their properties towards its construction. It was renamed Wat Traimit Witthayaram in 1956 when it became a royal temple. The famous gold Buddha within is called Sukhothai Traimit. It is believed to have been made during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai. It was moved from Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai to Wat Chotinaram (@ Wat Phraya Krai) during the reign of King Rama III.






Wat Traimit


Main gate of Wat Traimit


Structures within Wat Traimit


Way leading up to the hall of the Golden Buddha
The solid-gold Buddha of Wat Traimit
by Gerold Kogler, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bangkok_Wat_Trimitr_Golden_Buddha.jpg, used under GNU Free Documentation License




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