Mingun Great Pagoda or World Biggest Brick Pile - In fact, any mention of Mingun would be incomplete without mentioning the two other great deeds. King Bodawpaya’s four Great noble deeds also known as the Great Four: the Great Pagoda, the Great Bell, the Great Lake and the Great Lion. All these Great Fours are located in Mingun 19 miles from Sagaing and situated at the west bank of Ayeyarwaddy, Myanmar.

Nine years after the accession to the throne, King Bodawpaya handed over his royal responsibilities to his son the Crown Prince and left the capital to oversee the construction of the Great Pagoda in Mingun. The foundation of the Great Pagoda Pahtodawgyi was laid on BE 1152, 5th day of the waxing moon of Tapodwe (9 January 1791). The pagoda if completed would have risen to the height of 500 feet, the largest one in the whole country and probably the highest in the world. It was left unfinished when Bodawpaya died in 1819. It is the biggest brick pile in the world, the bottom terrace being a square of 450 feet, the basement on which the domical superstructure would rest.

For maximum safety, layers upon layers of brickwork were used internally instead of scaffolding. In order for the brickwork to be symmetrical and smooth, a central pillar 44 feet in circumference was erected to serve as a reference point. Big iron rings were used to reinforce the structure. (Myanmar Net)

Mingun Pagoda

Mingun Paya

Mingun Pagoda

Mingun Pagoda World Biggest Brick

Mingun Pagoda Sagaing

Mingun Pagoda 50 Meter High

Mingun Pagoda by King Bodawpaya

Mingun Pagoda Near Mandalay

Mingun Pagoda Old Day