Kanbawzathadi Palace

The palace dates from a very prosperous time in Burmese history. It was built by King Bayinnaung of the Taungoo dynasty, a vast empire that included much of present-day Burma, Thailand and parts of China.

Bayinnaung was one of Burma’s greatest rulers, a mighty King who possessed many white elephants, a sign of wealth and power at that time. The King even obtained a sacred Buddha tooth relic from Sri Lanka, which he had installed in the Mahazedi Pagoda. Bayinnaung built the new capital of the second Burmese empire, a large city called Hanthawadi (present day Bago) surrounded by walls with 20 gates. The palace was built on a 70 acres plot located at the center of the city. Construction started in 1553.

Records written by European visitors to the city tell about the magnificence and splendor of the richly gilded palace. Some of its buildings like the Great Audience Hall were roofed with gold plates.

The palace was looted and burnt down in 1599 during armed conflict. Its remains were abandoned, and the palace was not rebuild until the late 20th century. Excavation works started in 1990. Six mounds were excavated, revealing the brick foundations of several of the palace buildings. Several hundred of the original teak pillars used for the construction of the palace in the 16th century were found, many of them inscribed with Mon texts, as well as nearly 2,000 Buddha images.

Several buildings of the palace have been rebuilt. The Great Audience Hall was the largest building in the palace. It was the place where the King received his ministers and officials. The hall is also known as the Royal Lion Throne Hall, because it contained the Thihathana Throne or Lion Throne.

During excavations a number of 167 teak pillars were found, 135 of which are inscribed in Mon language with the names of towns, regions and people who donated them in the 16th century. The Great Audience Hall is a huge hall with rows of large pillars supporting the roof, its interior completely covered in gold paint. A copy of one of the Royal thrones as well as a number of the original 16th century teak logs are exhibited.

The Bhammayarthana Throne Hall, also called Bee Throne Hall contained the private quarters for the King, including the Royal bed chamber and living chamber. This very ornate building has multiple roof sections and false floors, and is topped with a Pyatthat, a seven tiered Burmese style roof. Other buildings contained the chambers of members of the Royal family.

There used to be 9 Royal Thrones in the Kanbawzathadi Golden palace, each decorated with a different motif and used for different occasions. Eight of them were destroyed by fire, the only surviving is the Thihathana Throne, also called Lion Throne because of the lion figures carved on it. The gilded, hard wood throne is on display in the National Museum in Yangon.

On the palace grounds is the Nandawya research museum, which exhibits items and artifacts found during the excavations, as well as information about the history of the second empire. On display are a number of the original 16th-century teak pillars and items like pottery, scales and weights used for commerce, ancient coins, glazed jars, swords and other weapons. The museum also contains a collection of 16th-century Buddha images in Mon, Siamese and Burmese styles from the palace.

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17°19′50″N 96°29′35″E / 17.3306°N 96.4930°E / 17.3306; 96.4930