Map - Savannakhet Province (Khouèng Savannakhét)

Savannakhet Province (Khouèng Savannakhét)
Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ) is a province of Laos. The name derives from Savanh Nakhone ('heavenly district' or 'land of fertility suitable for agriculture') the province's original name. It bears the same meaning as Nakhon Sawan, a city in Thailand.

The province is in the southern part of the country and is the largest province in Laos. It borders Khammouane province to the north, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên–Huế provinces of Vietnam to the east, Salavan province to the south, and Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan provinces of Thailand to the west. The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River connects Mukdahan province in Thailand with Savannakhet in Laos. Its capital, Savannakhet, also known as Kaysone Phomvihane or Muang Khanthabouly is Laos' second most largest city after Vientiane. It forms an important trading post between Thailand and Vietnam.

Along with Bolikhamsai and Khammouane provinces, Savannakhet is one of the main tobacco producing areas of Laos. It has numerous natural resources. Xépôn is the site of the largest mine in Laos, with reserves of copper and gold. During the Iron Age, copper smelting and copper mining was held at the archaeological site Vilabouly Complex.

Prehistoric human occupation is evidenced by the first stone tools in the province, dating back between 100,000 and 12,000 years. The first bronze tools date to 2000 BCE. The region was then the center of the Sikhottabong Kingdom. The much-venerated Pha That Sikhottabong stupa is on the grounds of a 19th-century monastery in Thakhek. Sikhottabong was an important kingdom in ancient Indo-China. Its capital was in the north-west of the province, in the present village of Meuang Kabong, on the eastern shores of the Banghiang River, about 10 km east of the Mekong. Other centers of the kingdom were in Viang Chan, Khammuan, Nong Khai, and Udon. Khmer Empire ruins dating to 553 and 700 CE have been found at Heuan Hin.

In the 20th century, Savannakhet province was one of the seats of the struggle for independence. Prime Minister Kaysone Phomvihane originated in the province. The town was bombed and then occupied by Thai armed forces during the Franco-Thai War. During the Vietnam War, the eastern part of the province was crossed by the Ho Chi Minh trail. It was heavily bombed by U.S. forces and loyalists. Some areas are still under the threat of unexploded ordnance. In 2007, the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge was opened across the Mekong from Savannakhet to Mukdahan, Thailand. In April 2008, a chance discovery was made at Meuang Kabong consisting of 8.5 kg of gold and 18.7 kg of silver objects, as well as pillars and traces of brick walls. Many missionaries came here, evidenced by a Catholic church in Savannakhet.

 
Map - Savannakhet Province (Khouèng Savannakhét)
Country - Laos
Flag of Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire Lao), is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Because of its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms: Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A post-independence civil war began, which saw the communist resistance, supported by the Soviet Union, fight against the monarchy that later came under influence of military regimes supported by the United States. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war. Laos was then dependent on military and economic aid from the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.
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Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
LAK Lao kip â‚­ 2
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  Burma 
  •  China 
  •  Khmer Republic 
  •  Thailand 
  •  Vietnam