- Address: Min Kun, Myanmar (Burma)
- Height: 7 m
- Material: bronze
- Weight: more than 90 tons
- Foundation date: 1810
The Mingun pagoda in Myanmar is a surprisingly ambitious project of the Burmese king Bodopai: he ordered the construction of a giant pagoda, which, according to his plan, would become the largest Buddhist sanctuary in the world. The work was carried out for several decades, but then, astrologers predicted adverse events related to the pagoda and construction was discontinued.
Despite the fact that to this day the pagoda has reached the level of only one-third, it is simply an incredibly magnificent structure. To appreciate the idea of the ancient Burmese king, you can look at the Pando-Paya Pagoda nearby, which is an accurate, though greatly reduced, copy of the temple, which was never meant to be finished.
Burmese Bell-giant
Especially for the future pagoda, King Bodopai ordered to cast a huge bell, in bronze of which, according to legend, gold and silver ornaments were fused. Moreover, the beautiful legend about the jewelry enclosed in thick copper, it may well be true - during the making of the bell, Burmese foundry masters really practiced the use of complex alloys, including silver, gold, lead and iron. This technology was aimed at increasing the strength and durability of the bell, and in addition - enhancing its acoustic properties. Listening today to the dense and melodic ringing of the Mingun bell, it can be said that the ancient masters did their best.
The bell was cast on a small island among the Irrawaddy River, a few dozen kilometers from the site of the construction of the temple. In order to deliver it to Minghun , King Bodopai ordered to dig an additional channel leading directly to the pagoda. But to get to the place, the bell had to wait almost a year: only with the advent of the rainy season, when the water in the river rose sufficiently and filled the man-made channel, the servants of the Burmese king finally managed to transfer the bell to the pagoda.
Pilgrimage to the Minghong Bell
After the devastating earthquake of the mid-nineteenth century, the old pillars of the bell were completely destroyed, and the copper giant itself fell, but remained intact. The Mingun bell was lying on the ground for almost sixty years, after which it was finally raised and installed on a steel crossbar, lying on new reinforced concrete pillars. Then the Burmese relic was first captured by a French travel photographer, thanks to the pictures of which the whole world recognized it and people wanted to see the bell with their own eyes.
The Mingun bell, cast in the early nineteenth century, was the largest in the world for two centuries. But in 2000 for the first time the Chinese bell of Happiness in Pindinshana, which pressed the Burmese relic on its pedestal, rang. But, nevertheless, the bell of Pagoda Mingun, with its weight over 90 tons, and to this day is one of the three largest bells in the world.
How to get there?
You can get to Mingun by the ferry that follows from Mandalay - he leaves the pier twice a day: in the morning and at noon. And to the very location of the famous bell in Myanmar, it is easy to get there by taxi or rent a bicycle - unfortunately, there is no public transport here.
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