Baan Hollanda บ้านฮอลันดา is a former Dutch trading village in Thailand, founded in 1643 during the Ayutthaya era. Located along the Chao Phraya river near the Ayutthaya Historical Park, to the south of the city island. It was established by the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
The term "Wilanda" was used by the Siamese in the past to mean those from the Netherlands, or the Dutch. It was derived from the Malay "Orang Belanda". It was used to denote the Dutch in Java and elsewhere in the East Indies. "Belanda" itself was possibly derived from the Portuguese "Hollanda" (Holland).
The Dutch first established formal trade relations with Siam in 1604, towards the end of King Naresuan’s reign. In 1608, King Ekathotsarot granted permission to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to open its trading post in Ayutthaya.
The location was in the southern part of the walled island city and was a rather constricted space. In 1634, during the reign of King Prasat Thong, a new VOC ...
Wat Kudee Dao วัดกุฏีดาว
Wat Kudee Dao or the Monastery of the Star Dormitory is located off the city island in
the northeastern sector of the city. It is also spelled Wat Kudi Dao.
Wat Kudee Dao is located in area known as Ayodaya. It is widely believed that an ancient
Dvaravati settlement existed in this area prior to King U-Thong’s arrival in 1351.
Recent excavations suggest that Wat Kudee Dao was built on the foundation of earlier buildings that predated the foundations of Ayutthaya. However, Royal Chronicles fail to mention it until King Thai Sa’s reign. The first report about this monastery is that the younger brother of King Thai Sa went out to be ordained as a monk at the Monastery of the Star Dormitory.
The restorations at Wat Kudee Dao began in 1711 and were completed in 1715. Royal Chronicles report that, when the renovations at Wat Kudee Dao were finished, a seven-day festival was held to celebrate its completion. Holy acts of merit were performed by giving...
Wat Ratchaburana วัดราชบูรณะ is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Ayutthaya Historical Park, Ayutthaya, Thailand. The temple's main prang is one of the finest in the city. Located on the island section of Ayutthaya, Wat Ratchaburana is immediately north of Wat Mahathat.
Wat Ratchaburana was founded in 1424 by King Borommarachathirat II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and built on the cremation site of his two elder brothers. The two brothers had fought to their deaths in a duel for the royal succession to their father Intha Racha.
This is the story about the three brothers:
King Intharacha had three sons being Chao Ai Phraya, Chao Yi Phraya and Chao Sam Phraya. Following the death of their father, the first and the second born, led their armies to Ayutthaya in order to claim the throne. Both princes engaged each other in personal combat, mounted on elephants; on or near the “charcoal market” bridge (Saphan Pa Than). Both were severely wounded, their throats slashed open at the same time ...
The Chatuchak Weekend Market, often called JJ Market, stands as one of Bangkok’s most iconic attractions and the world’s largest weekend market. Its story begins in the early 1940s when the Thai government, under Prime Minister Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, initiated a policy to establish local markets in every province to boost trade and make goods more accessible to people.
Bangkok’s first such market opened in 1942 at Sanam Luang, the grand open field near the Grand Palace, initially serving as a place for everyday items and fresh produce.
Over the following decades, the market relocated several times—to Sanam Chai briefly, then back to Sanam Luang in 1958—adapting to changing urban needs and government priorities.
By the mid-1970s, when General Kriangsak Chamanan shifted Sanam Luang toward recreational and ceremonial use, authorities allowed merchants to move southward to land adjacent to Chatuchak Park, made available through the State Railway of Thailand. This transition culminated ...
