Phra Racha Wang Derm, also known as Thonburi Palace, is the former royal palace of King Taksin, who ruled the Siamese kingdom of Thonburi following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and up until the establishment of Rattanakosin in 1782. It later served as the residence of several high-ranking members of the Chakri Dynasty until 1900 when the palace became the site of the Royal Thai Naval Academy.
The palace is now within the grounds of the Royal Thai Navy headquarters in Bangkok, and is open for group visits pending advance appointment.
Taksins reign ended in 1787 when he was overthrown by the general Chao Phraya Chakri, who became king . Phutthayotfa Chulalok relocated the capital city proper to the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya, and had a new royal palace, the Grand Palace, built there. Taksins palace then became known as Phra Racha Wang Derm, or former palace, and the two royal temples were excluded from the palace grounds.
As Thonburi was still strategically important, guarding ...
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish sustained contact with the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, beginning in 1511 shortly after their capture of the vital entrepôt of Malacca. Aware that Malacca had been a distant vassal of Siam, the Portuguese commander Afonso de Albuquerque promptly dispatched an envoy, Duarte Fernandes, by Chinese junk up the Chao Phraya River to the Siamese court. King Ramathibodi II received the visitor cordially, accepted the fait accompli of the Portuguese conquest, and opened the way for further diplomatic exchanges. Subsequent missions followed: one led by António de Miranda de Azevedo in 1512 and another by Duarte Coelho in 1516–1518. These culminated in a formal treaty of friendship and commerce, the first such agreement between Siam and a European power.
Under its terms the Portuguese obtained permission to reside and trade at Ayutthaya and other Siamese ports, to practise their religion freely, and to enjoy certain commercial privileges and tax exemptions. In ...
The ruin commonly identified as Wat Worapho, also known by its earlier name Wat Rakhang or the Monastery of the Bell, stands directly west of the former Grand Palace within the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
It forms part of a protected cluster of restored ruins that also includes Wat Worachettharam and Wat Lokaya Sutha, and it is most easily reached from the western side of Khlong Tho. The site occupies a large area that once stood on the north bank of Khlong Fang and the west bank of Khlong Pak Tho, with traces of a surrounding moat still visible in places though partially obscured by later road construction.
The precise date of the monastery’s founding remains uncertain, yet it clearly predates 1600. The Royal Chronicles first record it in connection with the ordination of Prince Si Sin around 1602. While living as a high-ranking monk there under the title Phra Phimontham Anantapricha, the prince gained renown as a Buddhist scholar deeply versed in the scriptures and royal manuals. His scholarly ...
Wat Sam Wihan, also known as the Monastery of the Three Preaching Halls and formerly called Wat Sam Phihan, is an active Buddhist temple located north of the historic city island in Ayutthaya Thailand.
It stands near the junction of Khlong Hua Ro and Khlong Mueang, along what was once the course of the Lopburi River, opposite the site of the former Maha Chai Fortress.
The temple is said to have been established around 1377 during the reign of King Boromracha I (also known as Khun Luang Phra Ngua), in the early years of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. According to traditional accounts, Mom Luang Chi Dam and her two younger brothers, Chao Fa Khao and Chao Fa Khiao, all of royal descent, founded the monastery as a place to enshrine the ashes of their mother and other relatives. They divided the construction among themselves, with Mom Luang Chi Dam responsible for the reclining Buddha and its vihara.
The ordination hall received its boundary stones around 1387. The name reflects the original presence of three viharas ...
