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Guhwangni Three-story Stone Pagoda of Gyeongju

Name: Guhwangni Three-story Stone Pagoda,Period: Unified Silla,Location: Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang,Status: National Treasures No. 37

After the death of King Sinmun in the Silla Dynasty in 691, his son, King Hyoso, built the pagoda to pray for the repose of his father’s soul.

After the death of King Hyoso, King Seongdeok put his sarira and a Buddha image into the pagoda for the two previous kings, and prayed for prosperity and peace.

It is a typical stone pagoda from the Silla era, in which a three-story pagoda body stands on a two-story platform. It is smaller than the Gameunsa Temple Site Stone Pagoda (National Treasure No. 11) or Goseonsa Temple Site Stone Pagoda (National Treasure No. 38.)

The style of the platform is similar to those of the above two pagodas, but it shows two changed trends: First, the number of inner pillars of the first-story platform are reduced from three to two. Second, the cores and roof stones are made of one stone slab each, not several stones assembled together.

Only the base of stupa finial as the support of the head decoration remains.