Wander With Armie: BANG PA-IN ROYAL PALACE

Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. The palace is located on the Chao Phraya River bank in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province Ho Hem Monthian Thewarat (Golden Palace of The God King)

Similar to most Thai royal palaces, the compound is divided into two sections, the Outer and Inner Palace. Whereas the Outer consists of buildings for public and ceremonial uses, the Inner Palace is reserved for the King and his immediate family. Formerly the Inner Palace was forbidden to male members of the court.

The principal buildings in the Outer Palace are the following:

Ho Hem Monthian Thewarat(Ho(shrine) haem Montien Devaraj) is a small stone structure in the form of a Khmer-style prasat (residence of a king or god with a corncob-shaped super-structure) built by King Chulalongkorn in 1880 and dedicated to King Prasat Thong of Ayutthaya, the literal translation of whose name is King of the Golden Palace, because a miniature Khmer-style prasat of gold was discovered during his reign.

Saphakan Ratchaprayun/Sabakarn rajaprayoon(Assembly Hall for Royal Relatives) . As its name implies, this colonial-style two-storey structure was built in 1879 for King Chulalongkorn's brothers and their suites.

Aisawan Thiphya-At(Divine Seat of Personal Freedom). The only Thai-style building in the palace, this beautiful pavilion sitting in the middle of a lake has been designated as the archetype of the Thai pavilion (sala Thai), a national symbol of Thailand. The statue standing in the middle represents Rama V and was erected by his son.

Phra Thinang Varobhas Bimarn, Residential Hall( Excellent and Shining Heavenly Abode). a Neo-Classic style one-storey mansion built by King Chulalongkorn in 1876 as his residence and throne hall. The audience chambers and anterooms are decorated with oil paintings depicting significant events in Thai history and scenes from Thai literature.

The Inner Palace is separated from the Outer Palace by a covered bridge with a louvered wall from which the court ladies could look out without being seen themselves. This bridge connects the Warophat Phiman Mansion to the Thewarat Khanlai (The God King Goes Forth) Gate; which is the principal entrance to the Inner Palace.

Within the Inner Palace are residential buildings, pavilions and gazebos laid out in a garden setting, for King Chulalongkorn was particularly fond of gardening.


the Royal Barge

Located in the Inner Palace are the following:

Uthayan Phumisathian Residential( Garden of the Secured Land) -it was the favourite residence of King Chulalongkorn when he stayed at Bang Pa-In Palace, Built in 1877 of wood in the style of a two-storey Swiss chalet, the mansion was painted in two tones of green. Unfortunately, while undergoing minor repairs it was accidentally burnt down in 1938. The new building which replaced it was constructed in 1996 at the expressed wishes of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The water tank, disguised as a crenellated Neo-Gothic tower, is only part of the original structure still in existence.

Phra Thinang (Royal Residence) Wehart Chamrum (Heavenly Light). Built by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1889, this opulent Chinese-style palace is also another standout, full of red, gold, dark woods and inlaid mother of pearl.The ground floor contains a Chinese-style throne; the upper storey houses as alter enshrining the name plates of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn with their respective queens.


the Palace's spirit house

Phra Tamnak Fai Nai (Royal Residences of The Inside)..Within the precincts of the Inner Palace were many Western-style buildings of one or two storeys for the ladies of the court, of which only a few remain today.

Ho Withun Thasana(The Sages Lookout). A merrily painted lighthouse-lookalike that served as a lookout tower for viewing the countryside.

Exhibition Hall (Saphakhan Ratchaprayun). A colonial-style two-floor building originally built for the King's brothers. The building now houses a small museum covering the history of the palace.
Memorial to Queen Sunandakumariratana. Built in memory of Queen Sunanda who was drowned with her daughter Princess Karnabhorn Bejraratana when the royal barge carrying them capsized in the Chao Phraya River while she was on her way to Bang Pa-in. According to Thai law at the time, touching a royal was punishable by death, so onlookers looked on helplessly as they drowned - and were instructed to do so by a guardian on another boat. , this simple marble monument has a touching dedication in Thai and English by King Chulalongkorn to the Queen.

Memorial to Princess Saovabhark Naritana and The three Royal Children- In the year 1887 Princess Saovabhark Nariratana, a consort of King Chulalongkorn, and three of his children died, so the king had a marble cenotaph bearing their portraits built for them near the earlier Memorial to Queen Sunandakumariratana.