diff --git a/python/core/qgsrectangle.sip b/python/core/qgsrectangle.sip
index 7f784fe3ea9..0a08aeda3c7 100644
--- a/python/core/qgsrectangle.sip
+++ b/python/core/qgsrectangle.sip
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ class QgsRectangle
     bool isEmpty() const;
     //! returns string representation in Wkt form
     QString asWktCoordinates() const;
+    //! returns string representation as WKT Polygon
+    //@note added om 2.0
+    QString asWktPolygon() const;
     //! returns string representation of form xmin,ymin xmax,ymax
     QString toString(bool automaticPrecision = false) const;
     //! overloaded toString that allows precision of numbers to be set
diff --git a/src/core/qgsrectangle.cpp b/src/core/qgsrectangle.cpp
index 3dfdfda2f64..72316f7f1a3 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsrectangle.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsrectangle.cpp
@@ -184,6 +184,25 @@ QString QgsRectangle::asWktCoordinates() const
   return rep;
 }
 
+QString QgsRectangle::asWktPolygon() const
+{
+  QString rep =
+    QString("POLYGON((") +
+    QString::number( xmin, 'f', 16 ) + " " +
+    QString::number( ymin, 'f', 16 ) + ", " +
+    QString::number( xmax, 'f', 16 ) + " " +
+    QString::number( ymin, 'f', 16 ) + ", " +
+    QString::number( xmax, 'f', 16 ) + " " +
+    QString::number( ymax, 'f', 16 ) + ", " +
+    QString::number( xmin, 'f', 16 ) + " " +
+    QString::number( ymax, 'f', 16 ) + ", " +
+    QString::number( xmin, 'f', 16 ) + " " +
+    QString::number( ymin, 'f', 16 ) +
+    QString("))");
+
+  return rep;
+}
+
 // Return a string representation of the rectangle with automatic or high precision
 QString QgsRectangle::toString( bool automaticPrecision ) const
 {
diff --git a/src/core/qgsrectangle.h b/src/core/qgsrectangle.h
index 50e06bc9aa8..ce5b5605182 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsrectangle.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsrectangle.h
@@ -97,6 +97,9 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsRectangle
     bool isEmpty() const;
     //! returns string representation in Wkt form
     QString asWktCoordinates() const;
+    //! returns string representation as WKT Polygon
+    //@note added om 2.0
+    QString asWktPolygon() const;
     //! returns string representation of form xmin,ymin xmax,ymax
     QString toString( bool automaticPrecision = false ) const;
     //! overloaded toString that allows precision of numbers to be set
diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgsrectangle.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgsrectangle.py
index 928f2adafd1..06e0df5780a 100644
--- a/tests/src/python/test_qgsrectangle.py
+++ b/tests/src/python/test_qgsrectangle.py
@@ -10,9 +10,12 @@ QGISAPP, CANVAS, IFACE, PARENT = getQgisTestApp()
 class TestQgsRectangle(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def testCtor(self):
-        rect = QgsRectangle( 5.0, 5.0, 10.0, 10.0)
+        rect = QgsRectangle(5.0, 5.0, 10.0, 10.0)
 
-        assert rect.isEmpty(), "Empty rectangle constructed"
+        myExpectedResult = True
+        myResult = rect.isEmpty()
+        myMessage = ('Expected: %s Got: %s' % (myExpectedResult, myResult))
+        assert rect.isEmpty(), myMessage
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
                       (5.0, rect.xMinimum()))
@@ -65,15 +68,15 @@ class TestQgsRectangle(unittest.TestCase):
         assert rect1.intersects(rect2), myMessage
 
         rect3 = rect1.intersect(rect2)
-        assert rect3.isEmpty(), "Empty rectangle returned"
+        self.assertFalse(rect3.isEmpty(), "Empty rectangle returned")
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
-                      (3.0, rect.width()))
-        assert rect.width() == 3.0, myMessage
+                      (3.0, rect3.width()))
+        assert rect3.width() == 3.0, myMessage
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
-                      (3.0, rect.height()))
-        assert rect.height() == 3.0, myMessage
+                      (3.0, rect3.height()))
+        assert rect3.height() == 3.0, myMessage
 
     def testContains(self):
         rect1 = QgsRectangle( 0.0, 0.0, 5.0, 5.0)
@@ -106,15 +109,19 @@ class TestQgsRectangle(unittest.TestCase):
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
                       (False, rect1.contains(pnt2)))
-        assert rect1.contains(pnt2), myMessage
+        self.assertFalse(rect1.contains(pnt2), myMessage)
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
                       (True, rect2.contains(pnt2)))
         assert rect2.contains(pnt2), myMessage
 
         myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
-                      (True, rect3.contains(pnt2)))
-        assert rect3.contains(pnt2), myMessage
+                      (False, rect3.contains(pnt2)))
+        self.assertFalse(rect3.contains(pnt2), myMessage)
+
+        myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
+                      (True, rect3.contains(pnt1)))
+        self.assertTrue(rect3.contains(pnt1), myMessage)
 
     def testUnion(self):
         rect1 = QgsRectangle( 0.0, 0.0, 5.0, 5.0)
@@ -135,8 +142,11 @@ class TestQgsRectangle(unittest.TestCase):
                       (True, rect1.contains(pnt1)))
         assert rect1.contains(pnt1), myMessage
 
-        print rect1.toString()
-        assert rect1 == QgsRectangle(0.0, 0.0, 6.0, 6.0), "Wrong combine with point result"
+        myExpectedResult = QgsRectangle(0.0, 0.0, 6.0, 5.0).toString()
+        myResult = rect1.toString()
+        myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
+                      (myExpectedResult, myResult))
+        self.assertEquals(myResult, myExpectedResult, myMessage)
 
         rect1 = QgsRectangle( 0.0, 0.0, 5.0, 5.0)
         rect1.unionRect(rect2)
@@ -145,3 +155,29 @@ class TestQgsRectangle(unittest.TestCase):
         assert rect1.contains(rect2), myMessage
 
         assert rect1 == QgsRectangle(0.0, 0.0, 7.0, 7.0), "Wrong union result"
+
+    def testAsWktCoordinates(self):
+        """Test that we can get a proper wkt representation fo the rect"""
+        rect1 = QgsRectangle( 0.0, 0.0, 5.0, 5.0)
+        myExpectedWkt = '0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000, 5.0000000000000000 5.0000000000000000'
+        myWkt = rect1.asWktCoordinates()
+        myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
+                      (myExpectedWkt, myWkt))
+        self.assertEquals(myWkt, myExpectedWkt, myMessage)
+
+    def testAsWktPolygon(self):
+        """Test that we can get a proper wkt polygon representation fo the rect"""
+        rect1 = QgsRectangle( 0.0, 0.0, 5.0, 5.0)
+        myExpectedWkt = ('POLYGON((0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000, '
+                         '5.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000, '
+                         '5.0000000000000000 5.0000000000000000, '
+                         '0.0000000000000000 5.0000000000000000, '
+                         '0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000))')
+        myWkt = rect1.asWktPolygon()
+        myMessage = ('Expected: %s\nGot: %s\n' %
+                      (myExpectedWkt, myWkt))
+        self.assertEquals(myWkt, myExpectedWkt, myMessage)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/testdata/raster/band1_byte_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml b/tests/testdata/raster/band1_byte_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
index 17baac178ae..8d316725af9 100644
--- a/tests/testdata/raster/band1_byte_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
+++ b/tests/testdata/raster/band1_byte_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 <PAMDataset>
   <PAMRasterBand band="1">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-0.498046875</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>255.498046875</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>256</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>0|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|1|19</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">2.000000e+00 1.280000e+02 0 255 0 255 255 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_1">1.280000e+02 2.540000e+02 255 255 0 255 0 0</MDI>
diff --git a/tests/testdata/raster/band1_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml b/tests/testdata/raster/band1_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
index f5853a6bb7d..53e23a52c2e 100644
--- a/tests/testdata/raster/band1_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
+++ b/tests/testdata/raster/band1_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 <PAMDataset>
   <PAMRasterBand band="1">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-32435.39</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>33091.39</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">-3.211166e+04 3.276700e+02 0 255 0 255 255 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_1">3.276700e+02 3.276700e+04 255 255 0 255 0 0</MDI>
diff --git a/tests/testdata/raster/band3_float32_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml b/tests/testdata/raster/band3_float32_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
index 1510a2a22dc..14a99c52934 100644
--- a/tests/testdata/raster/band3_float32_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
+++ b/tests/testdata/raster/band3_float32_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 <PAMDataset>
   <PAMRasterBand band="1">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-3.365659928167135e+38</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>3.433659951548935e+38</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">0.000000e+00 0.000000e+00 255 127 0 255 127 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULES_COUNT">1</MDI>
@@ -10,6 +20,16 @@
     </Metadata>
   </PAMRasterBand>
   <PAMRasterBand band="2">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-3.365659928167135e+38</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>3.433659951548935e+38</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">0.000000e+00 0.000000e+00 255 127 0 255 127 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULES_COUNT">1</MDI>
@@ -20,6 +40,16 @@
     </Metadata>
   </PAMRasterBand>
   <PAMRasterBand band="3">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-3.365659928167135e+38</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>3.433659951548935e+38</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">0.000000e+00 0.000000e+00 255 127 0 255 127 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULES_COUNT">1</MDI>
diff --git a/tests/testdata/raster/band3_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml b/tests/testdata/raster/band3_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
index 98e30a7dc86..07afa9c3d80 100644
--- a/tests/testdata/raster/band3_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
+++ b/tests/testdata/raster/band3_int16_noct_epsg4326.tif.aux.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 <PAMDataset>
   <PAMRasterBand band="1">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-32435.39</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>33091.39</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">-3.211166e+04 3.276700e+02 0 255 0 255 255 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_1">3.276700e+02 3.276700e+04 255 255 0 255 0 0</MDI>
@@ -11,6 +21,16 @@
     </Metadata>
   </PAMRasterBand>
   <PAMRasterBand band="2">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-32435.39</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>33091.39</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">-3.211166e+04 3.276700e+02 0 255 0 255 255 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_1">3.276700e+02 3.276700e+04 255 255 0 255 0 0</MDI>
@@ -22,6 +42,16 @@
     </Metadata>
   </PAMRasterBand>
   <PAMRasterBand band="3">
+    <Histograms>
+      <HistItem>
+        <HistMin>-32435.39</HistMin>
+        <HistMax>33091.39</HistMax>
+        <BucketCount>100</BucketCount>
+        <IncludeOutOfRange>0</IncludeOutOfRange>
+        <Approximate>0</Approximate>
+        <HistCounts>1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|1|1|1|1|1</HistCounts>
+      </HistItem>
+    </Histograms>
     <Metadata>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_0">-3.211166e+04 3.276700e+02 0 255 0 255 255 0</MDI>
       <MDI key="COLOR_TABLE_RULE_RGB_1">3.276700e+02 3.276700e+04 255 255 0 255 0 0</MDI>