The Bang Pa-In Palace

Among the line-up of familiar tourist spots in this old province is the Bang Pa-In Palace which has a history dating back to the 17th century. Agreeing to a recite of Ayutthaya, King Prasat Thong (1630-1655) ordered the building of a palace on Bang Pa-In Island in the glorious Chao Phraya River. The King founded a monastery, Wat Chumphon Nikayaram, on the land belonging to his family estate on Bang Pa-In Island and then had a palace built to the south of that monastery and in the middle of the island where he could occasionally dwell. Wat Chumphon Nikayaram and the palace, encircled by a lake 400 meters long and 40 meters wide, are the remains of King Prasat Thong's building work at Bang Pa-In.Historically speaking, the Bang Pa-In Palace served as a summer home for royal members after King Prasat Thong. But when the new capital was instituted in Bangkok,

Bang Pa-In was no longer in use and left uninhabited for 80 years. It was demolished with the fall of Ayutthaya and was restored in the mid-19th century by King Rama Iv, who was positively fond of the place and periodically spent his summers there. Most of the buildings that can be seen today date from the reign of King Rama V (King Chulalongkorn). Today the palace is used occasionally by Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama Ix) and Queen Sirikit as a home and for organizing receptions and banquets. The palace is currently placed just a few miles down the Chao Phraya River from Ayutthaya.

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The palace structures give a photograph of discrete architectural styles, set in a large park nearby ponds and waterways. The only royal home open to the collective is the Chinese-style Wehart Chamroon Palace that was built entirely of materials taken from China. Moreover, there is an Italian-style palace, a circular pavilion with steps important down to a pool, the refined Thai-style Aisawan Tippaya Asana Pavilion in the middle of a lake and, across one of the waterways, a Buddhist chapel in the Neo-gothic style with stained-glass windows. Within the extensive gardens are European statues and monuments commanded to be erected by King Rama V in memory of members of his family, one of them a dearly loved Queen who drowned in a boating mishap.

Some sites of interest in the Bang Pa-in Palace include Phra Thinang Wehart Chamroon, Phra Thinang Utthayan Phumisathian, Wat Niwet Thammaprawat and Memorial to Queen Sunandakumariratana. Phra Phra Thinang Wehart Chamroon is the Chinese-style two-storey mansion constructed by the corresponding of the Chinese accommodation of business and bestowed to King Chulalongkorn in 1889. The ground floor consists of a Chinese-style throne; the upper storey houses an alter enshrining the name plates of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn with their respective queens. This Chinese-style mansion was the much beloved home of King Vajiravudh or King Rama Vi (1910-1925) when he visited Bang Pa-In Palace.

Phra Thinang Wehart Chamroon is so gorgeous and breathtaking that Prince Ookhtomsky, a personal conduct of the Czarevitch, the time to come Czar Nicholas Ii of Russia, praised on a visit in 1890 that "It is positively a palace of romance, with ornamented tiled floors, immense ebony furniture, gold, silver and ceramics freely used for decorative purposes and delicate fretwork on the columns and on the windows. Evidently we have before us the considerable sight of Bang Pa-In. The Emperor of China himself can scarcely have a palace much finer than this!"

Phra Thinang Utthayan Phumisathian is situated to the east, opposite the pond. It is a two-story ornately erected building, which is painted alternately in dark and light green. Its balcony is the same in form as that of a Swiss chalet. Before being devastated by fire during the restoration in 1938, the entire building was built from wood and adorned with mahogany furniture imported from Europe. It was the popular home of King Chulalongkorn when he resided at Bang Pa-In Palace. Prince Ookhtomsky extolled it was "furnished luxuriously and with refined taste and comfort." Unluckily, it was burnt down by opening in 1938. The new building which substituted it was constructed in 1996 at the expressed wishes of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The water tank, disguised as a Neo-gothic tower, is only part of the customary buildings still existing.Built by King Rama V, Wat Niwet Thammaprawat looks more like a Gothic Christian church than a Thai monastery. Tourists can reach the temple by crossing the river in a small trolley-like cable car, which is free of charge. Meanwhile, the Memorial to Queen Sunandakumariratana is another place of high interest in the palace compound. In 1881, Queen Sunandakumariratana drowned when her boat sank in the Chao Phraya River while she was on her way to Bang Pa-In Palace. King Chulalongkorn was so grief-stricken and thus set up a marble obelisk as a cenotaph to her memory. The King also composed the dedication himself in both Thai and English.

The Bang Pa-In Palace is nestled in Tambon Baan Len, Amphur Bang Pa-In, which is 18 kilometers south of Ayutthaya. It lies 58 kilometers north of Bangkok by rail and 61 kilometers by road. To get to Bang Pa-In from Ayutthaya, one can go by Phahonyothin Road and make a right turn at Km. 35 for another length of 7 kilometers to Bang Pa-In Palace. The palace is open to the collective daily from 08.00-16.00 hrs. The admission fee is 50 Baht.

The Bang Pa-In Palace

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