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St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.<br/><br/> The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral, seen today in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags. <br/><br/> Pha That Luang, the 'Great Sacred Stupa' of Vientiane, is the most important religious edifice in Laos. It also has great spiritual significance for the Lao people, having been considered the symbol of Lao independence and sovereignty since the time of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants, in the mid-sixteenth century.<br/><br/> According to legend, That Luang was first established in the year 236 of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to 307 BC, when five Lao monks who had been studying in India, returned home bearing a breastbone of the Buddha. The five pilgrims persuaded Phaya Chanthaburi Pasithisak, then Lord of Vientiane, to build a stupa over the sacred relic 'for those who wished to pray and worship'.<br/><br/> The second, historic establishment of Pha That Luang was undertaken by King Setthathirat the Great, who moved the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in the mid-sixteenth century. Construction of the great stupa began in 1566.
In the south-east corner of Chiang Mai's old city stands Wat Myanmar, a fine example of a 19th century Burmese temple which would not look out of place in Mandalay. This temple is mainly associated with the lowland Burman tradition in the city, and pictures of the Shwedagon Pagoda and Sule Pagoda in Yangon (Rangoon) adorn the walls.
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Like most former (and present) capitals of Burma, Mandalay was founded on the wishes of the ruler of the day. On 13 February 1857, King Mindon founded a new royal capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill, ostensibly to fulfill a prophecy on the founding of a metropolis of Buddhism in that exact place on the occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism.
Mandalay Palace was constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's new royal capital city of Mandalay, in fulfillment of a Buddhist prophecy that a religious center would be built at the foot of Mandalay Hill.<br/><br/> In 1861 the court was transferred to the newly built city from the previous capital of Amarapura. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design, inside a walled fort surrounded by a moat. The palace itself is at the center of the citadel and faces east. All buildings of the palace are of one story in height. The palace was the primary royal residence of King Mindon and King Thibaw, the last two kings of the country.<br/><br/> On Nov. 28, 1885, the British entered the palace and captured the royal family, officially ending the Third Anglo-Burmese War. The British looted the palace, and turned the palace compound into Fort Dufferin. Much of the palace compound was burned down during World War II by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.<br/><br/> Today, Mandalay Palace is a primary symbol of Mandalay and a major tourist destination.
Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha); full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is located within the precincts of the Grand Palace.<br/><br/> The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onwards. Construction of the Palace began in 1782, during the reign of King Rama I, when he moved the capital across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags. <br/><br/> Pha That Luang, the 'Great Sacred Stupa' of Vientiane, is the most important religious edifice in Laos. It also has great spiritual significance for the Lao people, having been considered the symbol of Lao independence and sovereignty since the time of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants, in the mid-sixteenth century.<br/><br/> According to legend, That Luang was first established in the year 236 of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to 307 BC, when five Lao monks who had been studying in India, returned home bearing a breastbone of the Buddha. The five pilgrims persuaded Phaya Chanthaburi Pasithisak, then Lord of Vientiane, to build a stupa over the sacred relic 'for those who wished to pray and worship'.<br/><br/> The second, historic establishment of Pha That Luang was undertaken by King Setthathirat the Great, who moved the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in the mid-sixteenth century. Construction of the great stupa began in 1566.