Potala Palace

Potala Palace, Tibet’s most gigantic architectural structure, was the fortress and residence of the Dalai Lama, the political center of power in the country, and at the same time, due to its abundance of artwork and treasures, also an impressive testament to Tibetan religiosity. The unity of religion and power in the person of the Dalai Lama is embodied here in perfect form. At the same time a mountain fortress, the Potala Palace also reflects the fact that Tibet fought numerous wars that were in screaming contradiction to the man-centered religious ideals. But the Potala has other functions: it is not only a fortress, residence and administrative center, but also a monastery, mausoleum and museum. Its name was not chosen by chance: Potala was the name of a legendary mountain in India, where Avalokiteshvara was born, whose earthly incarnation is considered in turn to be the Dalai Lama.

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General Information

The 320 m long and 110 m high structure, around which eagles soar, is divided into the White and Red Palaces. The White Potala Palace with a defensible plinth in its present form emerged under the 5th Dalai Lama beginning in 1645 with the participation of a large number of serf laborers. Virtually nothing remains of the older fortress that had existed on this mountain since the time of Songtsen Gampo (7th century) – although legend has it that relics from that time include the meditation cave (see below) and the Phagpa Hall. The White Palace contains rooms with purely practical functions, including sleeping quarters, offices and the Dalai Lama’s audience hall. It also houses the monastery tract, administrative offices and warehouses. The most important shrines are in the Red Palace, erected under the regent of the 6th Dalai Lama before 1694.Since then, the exterior of the Potala has hardly changed.

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Inspection

The main entrance to the Potala Palace, through which pilgrims follow, leads up the side of the fortress mountain (called the Red Mountain) that faces the Old City to the east side of the White Palace. Tourists on a booked program are taken along the road from the west to the north side of the Red Palace to enter the holy of holies, so to speak, through the back door. From there, one must move along a route of inspection leading to all the important rooms with an unusually large number of magnificent pieces of art.

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Great Western Hall

The center of the Red Palace is the Great Western Hall, the enthronement hall. Its walls are decorated with paintings of episodes from the lives of the Dalai Lamas, Tibetan kings and incarnations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The four rooms surrounding the western hall can be regarded as the history of Tibetan Buddhism, based on their religious meaning: the Padmasambhava Hall tells the story of its origins; it is dedicated to the Indian saint who arrived in Tibet in the 8th century, subdued the demons of the local religion and entrusted them to guard Buddhism from now on. The next room is the hall of the reformer Tsongkhapa, whose successor later became the 1st Dalai Lama. The third room is dedicated to him and his four subsequent incarnations. The fourth room contains tomb stupas with the bodies of the 5th, 10th and 12th Dalai Lamas. These are 14-meter high, heavily gilded and jeweled pagodas with relics. The center stupa of the 5th Dalai Lama is the Potala’s most opulent decoration. In similar chests in the Red Palace rest the mortal shells of eight Tibetan priest-kings. From the outside, their exact location is shown by the gilded roofs of the Red Palace.

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Upper Floor

The staircases in the northeast corner of the west hall lead through an intermediate floor with murals that, among other things, depict the construction of the Potala, to the upper floor with other significant rooms and remarkable images. Here in the northeast corner is also the meditation hall of King Songtsen Gampo. This room, with its layout of rocks designed as a grotto, dates back to the time of the founding of Lhasa and the origins of the Potala Palace and of Tibetan Buddhism in general. Plastically, the king is depicted between the thirty-eight-armed Avalokiteshvara and the 5th Dalai Lama; statues of the wives of Songtsen Gampo, Padmasambhava, and other persons are further visible.

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Phagpa Hall

A circular corridor leads on to the hall of the peaceful and wrathful gods, as well as two halls full of many valuable metal sacrificial gifts. Above them is the hall of Phagpa. At its left entrance are foot and hand prints supposedly left by Padmasambhava, Tsongkhapa and the 12th Dalai Lama. The main statues in the room are three sandalwood statues of Avalokiteshvara, which supposedly came out as natural formations from a split tree trunk; therefore, believers see these figures as manifestations of the beyond, and the veneration given to them is correspondingly great.

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The 13th Dalai Lama’s stupa and private quarters

If you go left, you will reach the tomb stupa of the 13th Dalai Lama, who passed away in 1933. Next is the private quarters of the 6th Dalai Lama, a life-loving man who disobeyed his monastic vows and was later presumed to have been assassinated. Amitayus, the Buddha of longevity, is honored in this room today. Stairs lead up to the attic floor with the Maitreya Hall, where the throne of the 8th Dalai Lama stands. The rooftop platform offers a beautiful view of the city. A circular corridor then leads to the private quarters of the 13th and 14th (current) Dalai Lama. Since the latter fled Tibet in 1959, the rooms allotted to him have almost retained their original appearance. You can walk through the courtyard and extremely lavish portals to the upward-leading staircase on the south side of the palace and down into the city. Opening hours: daily. 9.30-12.00, 15.00-17.00.