Bago, Burma

Division

Bago ( burmese Paigu, pronunciation: [ bəgó ] ) is the fourth largest city in Myanmar and the capital of the eponymous administrative unit Bago Division. Up to renaming of numerous geographical names by the military in 1989, was the common name of the city of Pegu.

Bago is located about 80 km north of Rangoon in the south east of Bago Division in the Bago River, which flows into the Indian Ocean. The estimated population on 1 January 2005 was 245,000.

History

Bago was once the capital of the kingdom of Pegu ( Hanthawaddy ), which was founded by the Mon in the 9th century. Bago itself dates from the year 825, the city was completely destroyed by the Burmese in 1757 under King Alaungpaya. She had at that time about 150,000 inhabitants. In 1790, we began to rebuild, so Bago 1891 - now under British administration - again had more than 10,000 inhabitants.

Numerous wars between the Burmese and the Mon and between the Burmese and the Siamese ( Thai ) meant that now little more buildings are left. The numerous earthquakes took their toll, as quake destroyed in the years 1912, 1917 and 1930, again outstanding monuments.

Attractions

The main building is now the Schwemadaw Pagoda, which is to house the Buddha's relics. It has also been built 825, but later significantly expanded, including by King Bodampaya. The Schwegule Pagoda is very admired. The Mahazedi Pagoda dating from the 16th century, was completely destroyed in 1930, but again rebuilt. One kilometer west of the station is the second- largest reclining Buddha, the Buddha Shwethalyaung.

Four kilometers south of Bago is the Kyaikpun Pagoda. It was built in 1476 by ​​King Dhammazedi and consists of a tall pillar with a square base whose four sides are adorned by 30 m high statues. They show Buddha and his predecessors.

Personalities

• Wilhelm Freiherr von Danckelmann (1741-1782), Kronfiskal the Dutch possessions in Asia, suffered shipwreck off the coast and was killed