Wat Si Saket was built in 1818 on the orders of King Anouvong, which may be the oldest temple still standing in Vientiane. It was built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture, with a surrounding terrace and an ornate five-tiered roof, rather than in the Lao style, keeping it safe from the armies of Siam (now called Thailand) which sacked Vientiane in 1827. Although the temple was spared as its designed was a Bangkok style, the French restored the temple in 1924 and then again in 1930.