Pakxe or
Pakse (
French Paksé;
Laotian ປາກເຊ IPA: pȁːk séː "Mouth of the river Se") (population 70,000) is a city in southern
Laos, situated at the confluence of the
Xedone and
Mekong Rivers. It is the largest city in
Champasak province and its capital and is the gateway to the
Bolaven Plateau. It was also the former capital of the Lao
Kingdom of Champasak.
History
This city was founded by the French as an administrative outpost in 1905, and was formerly the capital of the Lao
Kingdom of Champasak and residence of the King of Champasak at
Champasak Palace, which was abolished in 1946 when the
Kingdom of Laos was formed. Since the construction of a bridge over the Mekong (built with Japanese aid), allowing road traffic with
Ubon Ratchathani in
Thailand, Pakse has become the commercial centre of southern Laos.
The Pakse airport finished construction on November 2, 2009, resuming flights to Vientiane and Bangkok.
The Bridge over the Mekong, Pakxe
The city has the
Champasak Provincial Museum.
Category:Cities, towns and villages in LaosCategory:Laos–Thailand border crossingsda:Pakxede:Paksees:Paksefr:Pakséis:Pakselt:Paksė (miestas)nl:Pakxeja:パークセー郡pl:Pakxept:Pakxeth:ปากเซvi:Pakse
