Pakhannge Monastery

Pakhannge Monastery (Burmese: ပခန်းငယ်ကျောင်း) is a Buddhist monastery in Pakhannge village, SaLay Township, Magway Region, Myanmar (Burma). A historic site, the monastery is the largest extant Konbaung era wooden monastery in the country.[1] In 1996, the Burmese government submitted the monastery, along with other exemplars from the Konbaung dynasty for inclusion into the World Heritage List.[1]

According to monastic records, the monastery's construction was ordered by King Mindon Min and completed by court ministers and sawbwas on 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land.[2] The edifice was dedicated by Mindon Min's uncle, the Pakhan Mingyi Yan Way for the Pandu Sayadaw U Visuddha, a prominent Konbaung-era monk and teacher of Mindon Min.[2][3]

The monastery construction required 7 years and 100 carpenters who used traditional architectural techniques.[2] The wooden monastery was built using 332 teak pillars under the direction of Burmese architect Tha Gyi.[3] Due to years of neglect, only the teak pillars and masonry work remain.[2]