Shwezigon Pagoda

The royal Shwezigon Pagoda or Shwezigon Paya ([ɕwèzíɡòʊɰ̃ pʰəjá]) is a Buddhist stupa located in Nyaung-U, Myanmar. A prototype of Burmese stupas, it consists of a circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines. Construction of the Shwezigon Pagoda began during the reign of King Anawrahta (r. 1044–1077), the founder of the Pagan Empire, in 1059–1060 and was completed in 1102, during the reign of his son King Kyansittha. Over the centuries, the pagoda had been damaged by many earthquakes and other natural calamities, and has been refurbished several times. In recent renovations, it has been covered by more than 30,000 copper plates. However, the lowest level terraces have remained as they were. This pagoda, a sacred Buddhist religious place, is believed to enshrine a bone and tooth of Gautama Buddha. Some believe it is a replica of the Tooth Relic sent as a gift by the King of Sri Lanka. The pagoda is in the form of a cone formed by five square terraces with a central solid core. There are footprints below the four standing Buddha statues here. Jataka legends are depicted on glazed terra-cotta tiles set into three rectangular terraces. At the entrance of the pagoda there are large statues of guardians of the temple. There are also four bronze standing statues of Buddha which are stated to be of the current age Buddha. At the outer limi

Building data from Wikidata (CC0); heights normalised. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).