A construction of a length of 320 m and a height of 110 m, around which the eagles flip, divides on white and red palaces. The White Palace Potal with a defense covered base in its current form arose at the 5th Dalai Lama since 1645 with the participation of a large number of serfs. From the more ancient fortress that existed on this grief since Songzen Gampo (VII century) practically nothing left - although the legend states that the relics of the time are the cave for meditation (see below) and the Phagpu Hall. The White Palace contains rooms that perform purely practical functions, including bedrooms, work offices and a hall for Dalai Lama's audiences. In addition, there are a monastery tract, administrative premises and warehouses. The most important shrines are located in the Red Palace, erected with the regent of the 6th Dalai Lama until 1694. Since then, the appearance of Potala has not changed almost unchanged.
Inspection
The main entrance to Potala Palace, through which pilgrims follow, leads up to the side of the fortress mountain (the so-called Red Mountain), which is addressed to the old city, to the eastern part of the White Palace. Tourists within the booked program are carried on the road from the west to the northern side of the Red Palace, so that they entered the holy of saints, so to speak, through the back door. From there you must move along the route of inspection leading to all important premises with an unusually large number of great items of art.
Big Western Hall
The center of the Red Palace is a large western hall, the intronization hall. Its walls are decorated with paintings with episodes from the life of Dalai Lam, Tibetan kings and the incarnations of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara. Four rooms surrounding the West Hall can be based on their religious meaning, to consider as the history of Tibetan Buddhism: the Hall of Padmasambhava tells about its origins; He is dedicated to the Indian Saint, which arrived in Tibet in the VIII century, submitted to the local religion demons and instructed them from now on to stand on Buddhism. The following room is the Hall of the Tsongkhay Reformed Hall, whose heir subsequently became the 1st Dalai Lama. The third room is devoted to him and four of its subsequent incarnations. The fourth tait gravestones with the bodies of the 5th, 10th and 12th Dalai Lam. We are talking about 14 meter, abundantly gilded and decorated with gems of pagodas with relics. The central stupa of the 5th Dalai Lama is the most luxurious jewelry of the Potala. The death shells of eight Tibetan priests are resting in such laritsa in the Red Palace. Outside, their exact location shows the gilded roofs of the Red Palace.
Top floor
On the stairs in the northeast of the Western Hall, it is possible through the intermediate floor with wall paintings, which, among other things, depict the construction of the Potala, get to the top floor with other significant halls and wonderful images. Here in the northeast corner there is also a hall for the meditation of the king Songzen Gampo. This room with cliff layouts, designed as a grotto, goes back to the time of the founding of Lhasa and the origins of the Potala Palace, as well as generally Tibetan Buddhism. Platically, the king is depicted between the thirtieth of the Avalokiteshvara and the 5th Dalai Lama; Next, the statues of Wives Songzen Gampo, Padmasambhava and other persons are visible.
Phagpu hall
An annular corridor leads to the hall of peaceful and angry gods, as well as to two chairs, full of many valuable metal sacrificial gifts. Over them is the Phagpu Hall. The left entrance in it shows the prints of legs and hands, allegedly left by Padmasambhaw, Zongkhape and the 12th Dalai Lama. The main statues in the premises are the three statues of Avalokiteshwaras from sandalwood, which allegedly emerged as natural formations from a split woody trunk; Therefore, believers see the manifestation of the otherworldly in these figures, and respectively, the reverence given to them.
Stupa 13th Dalai Lama and private
If you go to the left, then you can walk to the tombstone of the 13th Dalai Lama, which died in 1933. Further follows the private chambers of the 6th Dalai Lama, a vitality, who did not obey the monastic vows and subsequently allegedly killed. In this room today they honor the Amitayus, Buddha longevity. The staircase leads to the attic floor with the hall of Maitrey, in which the throne of the 8th Dalai Lama is. From the roof platform, a beautiful view of the city opens. Next, the ring corridor leads to the private rest of the 13th and 14th (current) Dalai Lama. Since the last in 1959 fled from Tibet, the premises allocated to him practically retain the original appearance. Through the courtyard and extremely luxury portals, you can go to the leading up the stairs on the south side of the palace and go down to the city. Opening hours: weekly. 9.30-12.00, 15.00-17.00.
Located on a red grief in the center of Lhasa, not only the largest monumental structure in all Tibet, but also the highest ancient.
Myths and Facts
The palace is named after the legendary mountain Potala in the South, on which the Bodhisattva Chenzeri lives (Avalokiteshwara), whom Dalai Lama represents on Earth. The legend says that in the VII century to welcome his bride Princess Wen Cheng, Emperor Tibet Songszn Gampo built a 9-storey palace with 999 rooms. After the collapse of the Songszn Gampo dynasty, lightning and wooden buildings were burned in the building. Subsequent wars almost destroyed an ancient construction.
The construction of the current palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama. By 1648, the White Palace was built. Red Palace, added in 1694. More than 7,000 workers and 1500 artists and artisans worked on its construction. In 1922, the 13th Dalai Lama repaired many chapels and halls in the White Corps and made changes to red.
Potala was the main residence of the Dalai Lama, until the invasion of Tibet in 1959. The Dalai Lama XIV was forced to leave and received political asylum in India. The rest of the monks were expelled, and the palace was plundered by Chinese soldiers. Unlike most Tibetan and, Potala was not destroyed by the Chinese Army, and most artifacts were well preserved. Today, only a few monks are allowed to be under strict supervision. The Chinese government uses a complex as a museum to attract foreign tourists.
In 1994, Potala Palace was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was named one of the new seven wonders of the world. Today, the complex is visited daily by thousands of Tibetan pilgrims and travelers from around the world.
What to see
Potala Palace is located at an altitude of 3,700 m on the Red Hill (Marpo Ri) in the middle of the Lhasa Valley. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe complex is 360 thousand m² and consists of two parts: a red palace, like a center, and a white palace, like two wings.
The heart of the complex is the Red Corps (Pochang Marpo) - the highest part in the center. This part is fully devoted to religious education and Buddhist prayers. The building consists of a variety of halls, chapels and libraries on several levels with gallery and winding corridors. Richly decorated with painting, precious stones and carvings, it contains several temples and tombs of eight past Dalai Lam, including Pagoda from 200,000 pearls.
Located here, the great West Hall of 725 m.KV. He is the largest hall in Potala. The walls of the hall decorate beautiful frescoes and murals. From three sides he is surrounded by three chapels: in the east, in the north and in the south. The caves of Dharma and Holy Chapel are the only preserved buildings of the VII century with the statues of Songscene Gampo, Princess Wen Cheng and Princess Bhrikuti inside.
The White Palace (Porang Carpo) once served as an office building of the local Tibet management and the residential premises of the Dalai Lama. White walls symbolize peace and quiet. The Great Eastern Hall on the fourth floor of 717 m.kv. There was a venue for important religious and political ceremonies.
Potala also are also schools of Buddhist logic, seminary, typography, gardens, yards and even prison. For more than 300 years, the ancient palace keeps many cultural relics, such as frescoes, stupes, statues, tanks and rare sutras. Of particular importance is the Fa-Wan cave, in which even before the construction of the building was read by the sacred texts of the king Songszn Gampo.
In Lhasa is also open to visit ,.
Potala Palace (Potala Palace) is open from 7.30 to 16.00 in the summer and from 9.00 to 16.00 in winter.
Cost: 100 yuan (about 11.7 €).
Excursions to the palace are limited, tickets are sold on preliminary applications (for 1 day) after 17:00 the next day. In some hands give 4 tickets. Only by registering, you can buy an entrance ticket according to your documents, where the time to visit the palace will be delivered.
Lhasa translated from Tibetan means "the earth of the gods" and here the presence of the Divine really felt everywhere.
When you come to Lhas, especially in my first trip to Tibet, the first thing you notice is Potala Palace (Tib.: པོ་ ཏ་ Potala, Kit.: 布达拉宫 Budalagong), towering on Marto Ri mountain in the city center which for many centuries has been winter residences Dama Lam. The palace is named after Mount Potalaka - the mythical habitat of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara, the living embodiment of which is the Dalai Lama.
The construction of Potaly began in 637 by the king of Tibet Songzane Gampo. However, after a fire and internecine wars, the palace was capitally destroyed and found a real appearance already at the fifth Dalai Lama in the middle of the 17th century.
In 1645, the fifth Dalai Lama ordered the construction of the White Palace. Three years later, in 1649, 9-story facilities were completed, and Dalai Lama moved to him from Drepung Monastery. Subsequently, the construction of the Red Palace was started, which was erected by 1694. Interesting the fact, still being the reason for various disputes and disagreements, that until the end of the construction of the palace, the death of the fifth Dalai Lama was hiding from the people. According to the data, the fifth Dalai Lama died in 1682, but this was kept in deep secrecy. There are many opinions about the causes of the death of the fifth Dalai Lama. One of the versions says that death was hidden from the people with the purpose of completing the construction of the Red Palace. After all, people building the palace were inspired by the deepest faith and respect for the fifth Dalai Lama. The news of his death could stop the construction of the palace, so his death was dragged for 12 years until the construction of the palace was completed.
Potala consists of 13 floors with a total height of 118 meters. Inside there is one thousand rooms, in which more than one hundred thousand altars and two hundred thousand Buddhist statues and images are located. Particular attention is paid to the stups, in which the relics of the fifth and thirteenth Dalai Lam are stored. Currently, Potala attracts thousands of Buddhist pilgrims. They bypass the cortex (ritual traverses) around the palace, are honored by mantras and prayers, make stretches.
Opposite the Potala rises Mount Chakpo Ri. In the 15th century, a medical college was located on this grief, which, unfortunately, was destroyed in 1959. Now Chakpo Ri attracts pilgrims and tourists with their weak pictures. Many of them have survived since the Tsar Songzen Gampo (7th century).
I want to go back to this place the strength again and again, in full breasts inhale this discharged air with flavors of incense, smoky oil and crystal freshness, slowly make the bark around the sweat, absorbing her story and wisdom.
In the city of Lhasa in Tibet - the Tsarist Palace and the Buddhist temple complex, was the main residence of the Dalai Lama.
Up to the flight of the Dalai Lama XIV in Darmasalu (India) after China's invasion in Tibet in 1959.
Located on a high hill that dominates the city. The total palace of the palace complex is 360 thousand square meters. m.
Now Potala Palace is a museum, actively visited by tourists, remaining the place of pilgrimage of Buddhists and continuing to be used in Buddhist rituals.
Due to the enormous cultural, religious, artistic and historical significance, was submitted in 1994 to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Name "Potala" Comes from the word, which in Sanskrit means "Buddha Mountain". At this place in the VII century, our era stood the Palace of Song-Wall Gampe, dedicated to the Buddhist Tibet ruler.
Potala is located 3,700 meters above sea level, its height is 115 meters divided into 13 floors, the total area of \u200b\u200bwhich is more than 130,000 square meters. There are no accurate data on how many rooms and halls in the sweat. Their number is "somewhere over a thousand," and there are quite a few people who were able to get around them all.
The palace in its modern form began to be built in 1645 at the initiative of the Dalai Lama V. In 1648, the White Palace was completed (Park Carpo), and Potala began to be used as a Winter Residence of Dalai Lam. The Red Palace (Pocrong Marpo) was completed between 1690 and 1694.
The palace is located at an altitude of 3,700 m on the Red Hill (Marpo Ri) in the middle of the Lhasa Valley. Due to the terraces, sites on the roofs and temples, it does not impress the fortress (Dzong). The general view of the palace stretching on the mountain range, with towers, walls, stairs, temples and extensions, is a unique art decision, its majesty and beauty are appreciated by Buddhists, architects and artists, are striking travelers.
Numerous pilgrims bypass around the hill with a palace, making a bark - a ritual trafficking of the holy place. Along the bark there are numerous prayer drums and trading rows.
To get inside the palace, in shape resembling a truncated pyramid or a trapezium, you need to go through a wide area located on all sides of the building. Only passing through them you can approach the slope, along the entire surface of which many zigzag stairs are scattered, connecting all parts of the palace.
The White Palace consists of a large eastern pavilion, a sunny pavilion, the residential entourage of the Regent and the Mentor of the Dalai Lama, and the official premises of the government. The big oriental pavilion was used for official ceremonies, in the Dalai Lama Sunny Pavilion actually lived and worked, read the sacred texts, was engaged in control.
The Red Palace served to a greater degree of prayers and religious rituals, there are pavilions in it. Eight memorial stations, including the fifth and thirteenth Dalai Lam, have great importance.
In addition to Palace, the palace consists of a string of large and small rooms (temples) dedicated to Buddhas, Boddhisatans, Dalai Lamam, as well as for audiences and ceremonies. In the halls, jewels and relics are spatial mandalas for contemplation, memorial stupas, statues of Dalai Lam and teachers, statues of deities and Yidamov, books, ritual items, complex painting system on the walls.
An excerpt from the book of His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV "My country and my people"
"They say it is one of the largest buildings in the world. Even if you live there for many years, all the secrets of this building are impossible to know. It completely covers the top of the hill. This is a whole city.
However, besides the fact that the building was used as an office, a temple, a school and a dwelling, Potala was also a huge warehouse. There were rooms filled with thousands of invaluable icons, Thanok. Some of them were written thousand years ago. There were rooms filled with golden regalia of the ancient kings of Tibet, which also had age for more than 1000 years, and various gifts obtained from Chinese and Mongolian emperors, as well as Treasures of the Dalai Lam, who ruled the country after the kings. Here they were kept armor and weapons of the period of all Tibetan history.
The libraries were the chronicles of Tibetan culture and religion, about seven thousand huge volumes. Some, as they say, weighed about 80 pounds, and other were written on palm leaves brought from India 1000 years ago. Two thousand enlightening scripture volumes were written in ink composed of gold powders, silver, iron, copper, pearl, lazurite and coral. Each line was written in ink of another color. "
One of the main attractions of the Palace is a lot of frescoes depicting various household and ritual stories. Some of the frescoes for a long time were not available for wide viewing. Only at the end of the 90s they were posted in the halls, and now they can see all the pilgrims and tourists who came to Potal.
Many of the frescoes depict the twelve council of God Avalokitershwara and his spouses goddess containers. The fact is that it is these deities that are considered the main patrons of Tibet. For the manufacture of these frescoes, Tibetan masters used agate, amber, gold and silver powder
Potala Palace is the highest ancient castle in the world, located at a height of 3767 meters. Potala Palace is a huge Buddhist temple complex, occupying 360 thousand m 2 and consisting of two parts: a red palace, like a center, and the White Palace, like two wings. The same palace is 115 meters - this is 13 floors.Potted several centuries was the main residence of Tibetan Dalai Lama. Now this sacred place attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists to themselves. Located on Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Potala - the largest monumental structure in all Tibet, the ancient palace of the world. The word "Potala" in translation means "Mystical Mountain".
Once in the walls of this huge palace, surrounded by silence and calm, recreated the religious ruler of Tibet. The centuries-old calm was violated in 1959 by the invasion of Chinese troops in Tibet, as a result of which Dalai Lama XIV was forced to leave the country and received political asylum in India, where it is still.
The first building on the site of the current palace was built in 637 Tibet's king Songzen Gampo, who decided to build a small palace over the cave F-Wan, where he usually meditated. After some time, the king came to mind the idea to make Lhasa with the capital, so on the site of the old building, a large palace was erected, which significantly expanded after Songscene Gampo wound with the Chinese princess Wen Cheng- By order of the king, the building of the palace was expanded to 999 rooms, and the high walls with the towers were built around it and rolled up the bypass canal.
Unfortunately, since almost everything in those days was built from a tree, who was not an exception to the palace could not survive a strong thunderstorm in the second half of the 7th century, during which Zipper got into it, and the fire began to burn all the wooden buildings. What remains of the palace has finally equalized the Earth's Earth Wars - only the Pabalakan Hall and Fa-Wan Cave lived to our time..
Palace Potala, who we see today, began to be built only in 1645, during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama.k 1648 the White Palace was built. Red Palace, added in 1694. More than 7,000 workers and 1500 artists and artisans worked on its construction. In 1922, the 13th Dalai Lama repaired many chapels and halls in the White Corps and made changes to red.
After completion in 1648, the White Palace was placed here the Winter Residence of the Dalai Lama. In the solar pavilion of the White Palace, the ruler lived and worked, and in the Great Eastern Pavilion received guests and conducted a solemn ceremony. White walls symbolize peace and quiet. The halls are decorated with beautiful frescoes and paintings. There is also a statue of Potala, the most respected artifact attracting thousands of Tibetan tourists. It is completely covered with a gravy gold total weight of 550 kg. and inlated in a tent of thousands of precious stones. The remaining burial stupas, significantly inferior in size, but also decorated with a huge amount of gold and jewels.
The Great Eastern Hall on the fourth floor of 725 m.KV. There was a venue for important religious and political ceremonies.From three sides he is surrounded by three chapels: in the east, in the north and in the south. The caves of Dharma and Holy Chapel are the only preserved buildings of the VII century with the statues of Songscene Gampo, Princess Wen Cheng and Princess Bhrikuti inside.
The heart of the complex is the Red Corps (which was built from 1690 to 1694) - the highest part in the center. This part is fully devoted to religious education and Buddhist prayers. The building consists of a variety of halls, chapels and libraries on several levels with gallery and winding corridors. Richly decorated with painting, precious stones and carvings, it contains several temples and tombs of eight past Dalai Lam, including Pagoda from 200,000 pearls.
Palace Potala occupies the entire hill on which it is located. The property is a huge structure stretched to the entire hill, still amazes both travelers and tourists and Buddhist and pilgrims themselves.
In the set of halls are stored innumerable treasures, there are stupes of Dalai Lam and many high teachers, many buddhas and deities. Particularly impressive volumetric tantric mandalas:
Samvara-Mandala
Gushiasamadja Mandala
Yamantaka Mandala
Kalachakra Mandala
Schools of Buddhist logic, seminary, typography, gardens, yards and even prison are in Potala. For more than 300 years, the ancient palace keeps many cultural relics, such as frescoes, stupes, statues, tanks and rare sutras. Of particular importance is the Fa-Wan cave, in which even before the construction of the building was read by the sacred texts of the king Songszn Gampo.
In 1994, Potala Palace was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was named one of the new seven wonders of the world. Today, the complex is visited daily by thousands of Tibetan pilgrims and travelers from around the world.
And so Potala looks at night
