Pakse (or Pakxe ; French : Paksé ; Laotian : ປາກເຊ [pȁːk séː] 'mouth of the river'; Thai : ปากเซ ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak . Located at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong Rivers , the district had a population of approximately 77,900 at the 2015 Laotian census . Pakse was the capital of the Kingdom of Champasak until it was unified with the rest of Laos in 1946.
17-824: The French established an administrative outpost in Pakse in 1905. The city was the capital of the Lao Kingdom of Champasak until 1946 when the Kingdom of Laos was formed. After the Franco-Thai war the French ceded Preah Vihear Province , formerly belonging to the French protectorate of Cambodia , as well as the part of Champasak Province located on the other side of the Mekong river from Pakse, which had been part of Laos , to Thailand . The city served as
34-492: A Summer , Bassac was said to be on a prosperous trade route as the outlet for cardamon, rubber, wax, resin, skins, horns, and slaves from the east bank to Ubon, Khorat, and Bangkok. The region then fell victim to Siamese and French struggles to extend suzerainty . After the Laotian Rebellion of 1826–1829, Suwannaphum lost its status and Champasak was reduced to vassalage . The Siamese-Cambodian War of 1831–1834 reduced
51-629: A grandson of King Sourigna Vongsa , the last king of Lan Xang and son-in-law of the Cambodian King Chey Chettha IV . Bassac and the neighboring principalities of Attapeu and Stung Treng emerged as power centers under what was later to be described as the Mandala Southeast Asian political model . The kingdom was sited on the eastern or Left Bank of the Mekong , south of the Right Bank principality of Khong Chiam where
68-410: Is growing as a tourist destination. Visitors to Pakse's Champasak Province have grown from 113,684 in 2006 to 493,180 in 2013. Sites of interest include: 15°07′N 105°47′E / 15.117°N 105.783°E / 15.117; 105.783 Kingdom of Champasak The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ [tɕàmpàːsák]) or Bassac , (1713–1904) was a Lao kingdom under Nokasad ,
85-524: Is the location of the Champasak Provincial Museum , which is a repository of historical documents and artifacts from the province. There are two hospitals in the city. One is the second largest in Laos, but many citizens travel across the border to Thailand as Thai hospitals are better equipped. There is a high risk of malaria and dengue fever during the monsoon season. Pakse is on National Road 13,
102-571: The Bolaven Plateau Alak people , led the initial resistance against French control, which evolved into the Holy Man's Rebellion . The concomitant right-bank Holy Man's Rebellion of 1901–1902 was a short-lived phenomenon. Following legal action against captured local leaders of the movement, the Thai government considered the case of the rebellion closed. The right-bank dependencies were absorbed into
119-685: The Mun River joins; and east of where the Mekong makes a sharp bend to the west to return abruptly and flow southeasterly down to what is now Cambodia . Due to scarcity of information from the periods known as the Post-Angkor Period , the Khorat Plateau seems to have been largely depopulated, and Left Bank principalities began to repopulate the Right. In 1718, a Lao emigration in the company of an official in
136-505: The Kingdom of Vientiane. The Thai army also attacked Champasak, and the kingdom was occupied without major resistance. King Pothi ( Sayakumane ) was taken prisoner to Krung Thep (Bangkok). In 1780, King Sayakumane was allowed to return to Champasak as vassal of the Siamese king. At the beginning of the 19th century, and ignoring the worldwide agricultural disaster accompanying the 1816 Year Without
153-612: The Siamese Northeast Monthon , Isan ( มณฑลอีสาน ), and the House of Na Champassak continued to rule autonomously. In 1904, prior to the Franco-Siamese Treaty, the kingdom's capital was transferred to French rule and was placed under the control of French Cambodia. Despite historical claims by Cambodia, Champassak lost jurisdiction over the province of Stung Treng and in return regained the city of Champasak. In addition,
170-601: The city to neighbouring countries. In 1943, 62% of the population of Pakse were Vietnamese. Today, Pakse is home to many ethnic Chinese. The population is predominantly Buddhist and the city has several temples. These include: Wat Luang, which was built in 1935 and is the largest temple in Pakse, and the Chinese temple Wat Sopsé. Pakse is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Paksé led by Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun . The city
187-564: The entire region to vassalage of the Nguyen dynasty , a situation soon further complicated by the French striving in the same region to establish what was to become French Indochina . Following the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893 , the Left Bank fell under French rule as an administrative block, with its royalty stripped of many privileges; French colonial administration of Lao kingdoms impoverished
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#1732858222011204-697: The main transportation highway of Laos. It has bridges over the Xe Don, the French and the Russian Bridges, and one bridge over the Mekong River, the Lao Nippon Bridge, one of only five bridges over the Mekong in Laos. Pakse is the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau , as well as to the southern provinces of Salavan , Sekong , and Attapeu . It is served by Pakse International Airport . Pakse Airport construction
221-654: The primary seat and residence to Prince Boun Oum Na Champassak , an important figure in the Laotian Civil War . The prince began the construction of Champasak Palace , but fled in 1974 before it could be completed. The town fell to Pathet Lao forces in May 1975. After 1975, Pakse acquired substantial economic importance in the region. The construction of a bridge over the Mekong, built with Japanese aid, allows road traffic with Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand and has further connected
238-746: The provinces of Kontum and Pleiku were ceded to French administration in Annam. In 1946, when Chao Nhouy or Chao Ratsadanay died, his son Chao Boun Oum Na Champassak became the head of the House of Champassak. He was also appointed as Inspector General for Life in Laos, in lieu of him agreeing not to make a claim on the Lao throne. Boun Oum was forced to leave Laos and become a political refugee in France in 1975. He died in France on March 17, 1980. He had nine children. Attapeu Too Many Requests If you report this error to
255-413: The region. The 1893 treaty called for a 25-kilometre (16 mi) wide demilitarized zone along the Right Bank, which made Siamese control impossible. It soon became a haven for lawless characters from both banks of the river. Lack of clear chains of authority resulted in turmoil in the whole region, and in what was known to the Siamese side as the " Holy Man's Rebellion ". Ong Keo and Ong Kommandam of
272-538: The service of King Nokasad founded Muang Suwannaphum as the first recorded population of Lao in the Chi River valley—indeed anywhere in the interior of the plateau. Around 1766, Vorarad-Vongsa, a dignitary in the Kingdom of Vientiane, started a rebellion. His plan failed, but he submitted to the King of Champasak, which led to the conflict between Champasak and Vientiane. In 1777, King Taksin of Siam sent an invading army to
289-422: Was completed on 2 November 2009, resuming flights to Vientiane , Siem Reap , Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok . Pakse has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification Aw ) with very warm temperatures throughout the year. Temperatures are especially high in the months before the monsoon season (March–April). There is a distinct wet season (April–October) and dry season (November–March). Pakse
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