As mentioned several times before on LCW, Laos' culture, spirituality and even architecture have been affected by Buddhism.  The beautiful buildings we often see are Buddhist temples (wat), buildings and houses with these Buddhist designs in mind.

The That Luang in the capital Viengchun is a prime example of a wonderful Buddhist Stupa.  One the other hand, we have the Wat Xieng Tong which represents the Xiengkhuang style.  Similarly, we also have what has been come to be called the Vientiane and Luang Prabang styles.  Contrasting, Vientiane and Luang Prabang styles, the former is a building indicative primarily of slender and tall attributes while the latter include much lower sweeping roofs that are a bit closer to the ground.

In most cases though, you will always find buildings that include several layers of high peaked roofs.  Why is this?  Again this attribute goes back to the Buddhist and Laotian beliefs.  The numbers of layers in a roof was often in reference to a Buddhist doctrine, ie. the levels of existence or Enlightenment.  Additionally it can be observed that the edges or tips of the roofs in a design shaped motif of a flame-like appearance.  This connitates to the belief that these pointed edges were to ward off bad spirits away from the temples (or in other cases, buildings).  In addition, most buildings (especially the wats and temples) have a gorgeous main front passage, decorated walls and roofs; many of which are adorned with Buddhist mythological stories or beings.

Inspite of wars, mingling of cultures and religions throughout Laos' history, the Lao architecture (and Lao people and culture itself) have come to develop into their own distinct characteristic and flavor.

Lao architecture is truly a national heritage. However in some parts of the country many buildings have been destroyed because of wars. A prevalent and recent example is that of the province of Xiengkhoung when the Americans began a secret war waged on Lao territory against the Viet Cong. In doing so, Laos became one of the most heavily bombed countries that world military history has ever known. The near or complete obliteration of many cities and villages in that northern province attributed to the great loss of Lao architectural treasures.

Fortunately, not all was destroyed in that province. In addition, there remains other examples of superb Lao architecture throughout the country although the primary places recommended are the cities of Viengchun (Vientiane), Luangprahang and Xiengkhoung.