AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



© 2009-2026
All rights reserved



NOTICE



End March 2021, Yahoo Inc. abandoned its offline SiteBuilder in favour of an online version. I have built this website for over ten years with the old version. As no tool had been provided to migrate the old version to the new platform, the website containing about 1000 pages needs to be rebuilt from scratch. The old web pages remained published on the Internet, so I created links to the most important sections in the division named "The Old Website". The sections in this division will remain posted as long as all the pages of that section are not renewed. Bear in mind that I cannot make any changes to the published pages of the old website. If you like the website or want to remain informed on Ayutthaya's history, join AHR on Facebook.



RECENTLY ADDED OR UPDATED



PRASAT NAKHON LUANG


7-10-2026


Prasat Nakhon Luang is situated on the east bank of the Pa Sak River in Nakhon Luang District of Ayutthaya province. The former royal residence is near the confluence of the Pa Sak River (locally called Khlong Sakae) and Khlong Bang Phra Khru. The latter joins the Lopburi River at Nakhon Luang and thus serves as a connecting canal between the two main rivers. Prasat Nakhon Luang is one of the five royal residences or palaces outside the city of Ayutthaya cited in old documents.

read more

THE FRONT PALACE


7-10-2026


Chan Palace, or Wang Chan, was situated on the west bank of the Front Moat. The ancient palace sat on the city island in the northeast, near the present Hua Ro Market in Hua Ro Sub-district. The site now houses the Chanthara Kasem National Museum and is accessible via U-Thong Road. Opposite the palace on Ko Loi - the floating island - we find Wat Monthop. The palace is generally known as "Wang Na" or "Front Palace" because it was located east of the Grand Palace.


read more

CHAO SAM PHRAYA NATIONAL MUSEUM


3-10-2026


The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is on Ayutthaya City Island, on Rojana Road opposite Ayutthaya's Rajabhat University. The museum is named after the third son of King Intharacha (reign 1409-1424 CE), who, when on the throne as King Borommaracha II (reign 1424-1448 CE), ordered the construction of Wat Ratcha Bun or the Monastery of Royal Merit (presently called Wat Ratcha Burana) on the cremation site of his two elder brothers. Three monastic structures once stood here: Wat Pa Nai, Wat Jingjok, and San Chao Thung. The museum was specially built to display the objects excavated at Wat Ratcha Burana and Wat Maha That in 1957 and 1958 CE.

read more

THE REAR PALACE


21-10-2026


Wang Lang, or the Rear Palace, is a defunct Ayutthaya-era palace, formerly located on the site now occupied by the Fine Arts Department (FAD) - Region 3, adjacent to Chedi Phra Sri Suriyothai, part of Wat Suan Luang. In the 20th century, the site was a liquor distillery. The Rear Palace was situated opposite Wat Kasattra on the east bank of the old Lopburi River, whose riverbed in the 19th century became the Chao Phraya River. The site lay within the city walls on the western side.

read more

AYUTTHAYA HIGHLIGHTS



Wat Ratcha Burana - also called the Monastery of the Royal Repairs or the Monastery of the Royal Restoration - is located on the city island in the central area of Ayutthaya in Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The temple is situated on the corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road, opposite Wat Maha That and near the former Pa Than bridge.

read more

Wat Phra Si Sanphet is situated on the city island in the Ayutthaya Historical Park in the Pratu Chai Sub-district. It has been registered as a national historic site by the Fine Arts Department since 5 March 1935 CE. This monastery was the most important temple of Ayutthaya and was situated within the Grand Palace grounds. It served as a model for the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.

read more

Wat Phra Ram is a restored temple ruin located in the Ayutthaya Historical Park in Pratu Chai Sub-district situated close to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet in a swampy area called Bueng Phra Ram. The monastery was constructed on the cremation site of the first Ayutthaya monarch, King Ramathibodi I (reign 1351-1369 CE).

read more

Wat Maha That, or the Monastery of the Great Relic, is located on the city island in the central part of Ayutthaya in the Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The temple is situated on the corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road.


read more

Wat Phukhao Thong, or the Monastery of the Golden Mount, is located off the city island in Thung Phukhao Thong, nearly three kilometres northwest of the centre of the city of Ayutthaya in the Phukhao Thong Sub-district. Thung Phukhao Thong is bordered on the west by the present Chao Phraya River, which occupied the bed of the Bang Kaeo River in the mid-19th century.

read more

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, or the Great Monastery of Auspicious Victory, is located off the city island in the southeast of Ayutthaya in the Phai Ling Sub-district. In the past, it bears other names such as Wat Pa Kaeo, Wat Chao Phraya Thai and Wat Yai Chaiya Mongkhon. Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is situated in or just outside an ancient city known as Ayothya.

read more

Wat Phutthaisawan, or the Monastery of Buddhist Kingship, is located in the southern area of Ayutthaya in the Samphao Lom Sub-district, on the south bank of the Chao Phraya River and east of Khlong Thakian. It is opposite the mouth of Khlong Chakrai Yai. The temple complex faces east towards the Khu Cham and is bordered on the north by the Chao Phraya River.

read more

Wat Chai Watthanaram, or the Monastery of the Temple for the Advancement of Victory, as Richard Cushman translate it, is a restored ruin situated off the city island in the western area of Ayutthaya in the Ban Pom Sub-district. The large monastery is located on the west bank of the present Chao Phraya River in front of the Siriyalai Palace, which is directly across the river.

read more