Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat and Phra Buddha Chinarat

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, also called Wat Yai, was built on the bank of the Nan river. It was built in the 14th century by the Ayutthayan king Borommatrailokanat in order to wage a military campaign against the Kingdom of Lanna and renovated later by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). It probably initially housed a Sukhothai lotus-bud chedi, later replaced by the actual tall Ayutthayan prang (temple with spire). The golden tiles on the antefixes (upright ornaments on a tiled roof to conceal the joints) of the wat were added during the renovation. In the gallery outside the prang are dozens of Buddha images.
Inside the west wiban (building) is the Buddha image Phra Buddha Chinarat, made of gilded bronze, dating from the 14^th century, supreme example of late Sukothai art. It is one of the most revered in all of Thailand, second to the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.