July 16, 2012 at 2:58 pm

The Potala Palace in Tibet

by twistedsifter

 

The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet. It is named after Mount Potalaka and was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It stands as a symbol of Tibetan Buddhism, built on the Red Mountain at an altitude of 3,700 meters.

Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress, called the White or Red Palace, on the site built by Songtsen Gampo in 637.

Today, the Potala Palace is a museum and was recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Below you will find some beautiful photographs of this incredible palace along with additional facts and figures. Enjoy!

 

 

 

1.

 

Potala Palace

 

 

The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. [Source]

 

 

2.

 

Potala palace

Photograph by Kat wishes on Flickr

 

 

Thirteen stories of buildings – containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues – soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the “Red Hill”, rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor. [Source]

 

 

3.

 

Potala Palace ????

Photograph by zwz64 on Flickr

 

 

This central member of Potala is called the “red palace” from its crimson colour, which distinguishes it from the rest. It contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas. [Source]

 

4.

 

Rooftop of the Potala Palace  ???????????

Photograph by reurinkjan on Flickr

 

 

 

5.

 

White Palace in the Potala Palace

Photograph by reurinkjan on Flickr

 

 

The White Palace or Potrang Karpo is the part of the Potala Palace that makes up the living quarters of the Dalai Lama. The first White Palace was built during the lifetime of the Fifth Dalai Lama and he and his government moved into it in 1649. It then was extended to its size today by the thirteenth Dalai Lama in the early twentieth century. The palace was for secular uses and contained the living quarters, offices, the seminary and the printing house.
 
The yellow building at the side of the White Palace in the courtyard between the main palaces houses giant banners embroidered with holy symbols which hung across the south face of the Potala during New Year festivals. [Source]

 

 

6.

 

Prayer Wheels of The Potala Palace

Photograph by Eddy Tse on Flickr

 

 

The number of visitors to the palace was restricted to 1,600 a day, with opening hours reduced to six hours daily to avoid over-crowding from 1 May 2003. Visits to the structure’s roof was banned after restoration works were completed in 2006 to avoid further structural damage. Visitorship quotas were raised to 2,300 daily to accommodate a 30% increase in visitorship since the opening of the Qingzang railway into Lhasa on 1 July 2006, but the quota is often reached by mid-morning. [Source]

 

 

7.

 

inside interior of potala palace tibet The Potala Palace in Tibet

Photograph by Luca Galuzziwww.galuzzi.it

 

 

 

8.

 

Potala Palace0028

 

 

 

9.

 

DSC_0232

Photograph by Jo (embojo on Flickr)

 

 

 

10.

 

Mural inside the Potala Palace

 

 

 

11.

 

Potala Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter highly recommends:

 

 

ellora caves india mountain temples 20 The Potala Palace in Tibet

 

 

 

 

moat japan matsumoto castle The Potala Palace in Tibet

 

 

 

 

ideal palace ferdinand cheval eg 3 The Potala Palace in Tibet