History

It is believed that the present residents of Loei province are descendants of people who established the Yonok Nakhon kingdom and later migrated to settle Loei. Approximately 2,000 years ago Yonok Nakhon was a big kingdom of the north, which lasted for around 800 years. Its power and authority extended as far as the Tang Kia bay of China and the Shan state of Burma. The first king of this kingdom was Phraya Singhanawat, the prince of a southern Chinese city, who evacuated his citizens to the south to avoid being conquered by the expanding Chinese dynasty.

During the Ayutthaya period, in 1588, the king of Burma organized an attack on Ayutthaya city. King Jakaphat rode an elephant to lead the Siamese military in the fight with the enemy, and the Burmese army retreated, but the Ayutthaya kingdom lost its queen, Sri Suriyothai, who sacrificed her life to help the king. Later a new, tough king of Burma made another attempt to take over Ayuthaya and this time he succeeded. Burmese troops swept all the way to Pitsanulok and Sri Sattanakanahut kingdom, in present day Laos, capturing many prisoners. Afterwards the kings of Sri Sattanakanahut and Ayutthaya agreed to become allies against the Burmese.

To symbolize the relationship between the two kingdoms a stupa was constructed in 1660 on the site where Au River and Mun River converge, in Dan Sai district in Loei province. The stupa was called Sri Song Rak and marked the friendship, harmony and honesty prevailing between the two countries.

In more modern times Thailand lost all of the lands east of the Mekong River to France, in 1856. People in Chieng Khan who did not want to be under French colonial rule migrated across the river and established New Chieng Khan in the province.

In 1903 French troops deployed to seize Dan Sai district. They looted Sri Songrak’s stone inscription from the district, but when they tried to send it back to Vientiane the boat it was on sank. It has been said that the inscription was later found when the Mekong River was low, and that it is now kept in Louvre Museum, in Paris, but there is no confirmation of this.

In 1924 a local cult, called the ‘Phi Boon’, claimed to have divine inspiration and developed a large following among the people of Loei province. Based at Wat Ban Nong Mark Kaew, in Phu Kradung district of the province, they eventually tried to seize the provincial capital and planned to attack Vientiane, but their attempt failed and the cult members were sentenced to three months in jail.

King Rama IV officially recognised the area as Muang Loei in 1853. Later, on January 4th, 1907, the Minister of the Interior upgraded Muang Loei to be Loei Province and it has held provincial status since that time. 

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