The Patuxai In Vientiane

The Patuxai in Vientiane is a relatively recent construction (1960s).

In some guides or other articles found on the net, we tend to compare this building to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris...

Yes, well, in the principle at the limit, namely a cube with four openings at the four cardinal corners...

For the rest, the architecture, style and dimensions are quite different and do not have much in common with the original that the whole world knows.

If you forget the name, it is easy to say at that moment... the Arc de Triomphe.

Made according to the project of the architect Tham Sayasithsena who had studied in Paris,it was built between the end of the colonial period and the beginning of the Vietnam War, in order to honour the memory of the unknown soldier who died for what was then a fragile kingdom, although already united under a single administration.

Paradoxically, the Patuxai (or Ark of Victory) would never have seen the light of day, at least in its current form, without the American donation of 6,000 tons of concrete taken from the surpluses generated by the construction of the new runways at the Capital Airport....

This circular basin with its water jets is very recent

That day (Sunday) many young tourists.
The travelling photographers with a printer hung on the shoulder do not stop working. 

From the room at the top (49 m high) and whose walls are covered with inscriptions, a panoramic view is available to you, with this beautiful esplanade and its brand new fountain.