Wat Mahathat, “the temple of the Great Relic” was one of the most important temples in the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Located on the historical island the large monastery features a huge central prang, a very large principal viharn and ubosot and a great number of subsidiary chedis and viharns. The upper part of its once massive central prang has collapsed. Today only the base remains.
One of the temple’s most photographed objects is the head of a stone Buddha image entwined in the roots of a tree.
Wat Mahathat was one of Ayutthaya’s most important temples. It enshrined Buddha relics and was the seat of the Supreme Patriarch of Buddhism and thus the center of Buddhism in the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
Wat Mahathat was a Royal monastery located close to the palace. The King performed important ceremonies here, such as the Royal Kathin ceremony.
