Wat Phra Keo, now called ‘Ho Phra Keo’, was first built by King Setthathirath in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha (after which it is still named). It was also the king’s personal temple. In 1779 it was looted by the Siamese, and the Emerald Buddha was taken to Bangkok, where it still remains. The temple was destroyed, rebuilt in 1816 and destroyed again in 1828. It remained in ruins until it was rebuilt by the French in 1936-42. In the seventies it became a museum. Some of the stone Buddhas there date from 6th to 9th centuries.