Mandalay, Golden City was founded relatively recently in 1857 by King Mindon to coincide with an ancient Buddhist prophecy. Tradition has it that Gautama Buddha visited the sacred Mandalay Hill site, and proclaimed that on the 2400th anniversary of his death a metropolis of Buddhist teaching would be founded there. Upon completion of what was now the new Royal capital of Konboung, or Upper Myanmar, King Mindon moved his entire government and 150,000 people from nearby Amarapura. It was common in Burmese history to move capitals upon the ascension of a king. It was the last city to fall into the hands of the British invasion of 1885; and for this reason it still has great importance as a cultural centre. King Thibaw was reigning at the time, but after he handed Mandalay over to the British General Prendergast, both he and his queen went into self imposed exile.
Once part of King Mindon’s palace, this wooden building was moved shortly after his death and converted into a monastery. It remains an impressive example of Burmese Teak crafting, and architecture. Today it is one of few such buildings surviving, as extensive bombing during WW II, destroyed most of Mandalay wooden buildings.
