Phra That Chedi Chum Worawihan Temple, Sakon Nakhon
Located on Charoen Mueang Road, Mueang District, Sakon Nakhon Province, in Wat Phra That Chedi Chum Worawihan, Phra That Chedi Chum is facing Nong Harn Lake in the east. It is a brick and mortar pagoda with a square base and is approximately 24 meters high. The upper part is in the shape of a square lotus without any decorative patterns. The golden umbrella on top of Phra That Chedi Chum is made of pure gold weighing 247 baht. There are four gates. The gate tops are like castle spires. The inside is solid and made of laterite and red sandstone. There are Khmer-style false gates on the north, south and west sides. The real entrance gate on the east side is built to cover the footprints of four Buddhas, which are Phra Kakusanda, Phra Konakam, Phra Kassapa and Phra Kodom or Phra Sri Ariyamettrai (the Supreme Buddha whom Buddhists worship today). Initially, Phra That Chedi Chum was probably a sandstone castle in the Khmer art style. Inside the door frame of the tunnel on the right hand side, there is an inscription of Phra That Chedi Chum in ancient Khmer script from around the 16th Buddhist century. The current Phra That is in Lan Xang art. Due to the influence of the Lan Xang Kingdom spread to the northeastern region of Thailand around the 19th Buddhist century, the chedi was renovated. There is no clear evidence of when it was built, but it is an important religious site of Sakon Nakhon since ancient times. Inside the chapel near the chedi is the sacred Luang Pho Ong Saen, which is highly revered and is the center of the minds of Buddhists in Sakon Nakhon Province. Every Buddhist holy day in the evening, many people go to worship the chedi and Luang Pho Ong Saen. The annual festival of Phra That Chedi Chum starts from the 9th waxing moon day to the 15th waxing moon day of the 2nd lunar month of every year (according to the lunar calendar). Inside the chapel is Luang Pho Ong Saen, a Buddha image in the Mara-Vijaya attitude in the Chiang Saen art style. It is the Buddha image of Sakon Nakhon. In 2370, the original ordination hall or old sim was built. It is a hall-type sim with a wooden structure made of brick and mortar. The roof is made of the original wooden tiles and faces south when the Prince was the governor of the city. Inside, there are paintings of vines around the building. The gable has murals of gods and goddesses, stars of the hour, dragons and vines. Inside, there are many Buddha statues, both made of wood and stucco. There is a sacred well, which is a well that came with Phra That Chedi Chum. Originally, there was a spring because it was the end of an underground stream that flowed from Phu Phan mountain range, passed through the northern government center, passed through the center of the city next to the northern temple, and then flowed here, called "Phu Nam Sot" or "Phu Nam Lod", and flowed to Sa Phang Thong in Somdej Phra Srinakarin Park, which is next to the temple. When the water level gradually decreased, a wall was built to prevent the ground from collapsing. In the past, water from the well here would be used in important ceremonies. Inside the temple, there is a drum tower or bell tower, which is three stories high. It was built in 1960 by Vietnamese people who came to live in Sakon Nakhon Province. They worked together to build it and offer it to Phra That Chedi Chum as a Buddhist offering to tell the time.