Khon Kaen
|
ขอนแก่น Khon Kaen |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 16 ° 26 '21 " N , 102 ° 49' 44" E | ||
| Symbols | |||
|
|||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Thailand | ||
| Khon Kaen | |||
| district | Mueang Khon Kaen | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | TH-40 | ||
| surface | 46 km² | ||
| Residents | 113,754 (2010) | ||
| density | 2,472.9 Ew. / km² | ||
| politics | |||
| mayor | Peerapon Pattabapeeradech | ||
 View over the city
|
|||
Khon Kaen ( Thai ขอนแก่น ) is the capital of the district ( Amphoe ) Mueang Khon Kaen and the province of Khon Kaen in the northeast region of Thailand , the Isan . Khon Kaen is one of four major cities in northeast Thailand and one of the most important economic, cultural, educational and transport centers in the region.
location
Khon Kaen is located in the northeast on the edge of a less fertile karst plain , the Khorat Plateau , and the fertile area that adjoins it to the north. The city is about 380 kilometers as the crow flies (449 kilometers by road) from the capital Bangkok , has an airport and is on the Bangkok - Nong Khai railway line (border with Laos ). In addition, the expressways Thanon Mittraphap (Highway 2) and the Thailand Route 12 (Highway 12) run past the place. There are regular bus connections to all major cities in Central, North and Northeast Thailand.
Economy and Importance
After Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen is the most important trading center in Isan. One of the largest and leading universities in northeast Thailand is located here, the University of Khon Kaen with around 40,000 students, a subsidiary campus of the Technical University of Rajamangala Isan with faculties for engineering and vocational school education, and a branch of the Thai-German Technical Institute. The many secondary schools are striking.
The textile industry (especially silk ) is an industry of some importance.
Airport
- Khon Kaen Airport ( IATA airport code : KKC)
railroad
Khon Kaen has a train station on the Nakhon Ratchasima – Nong Khai railway line , which on the one hand provides the connection to Bangkok and beyond Nong Khai over the Mekong to Laos .
tourism
Khon Kaen owns the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid hotel, the only 5-star hotel and the only brewery pub in the Isan. There are also two 4-star hotels in Khon Kaen, the Kosa (the oldest luxury hotel in the city) and the Charoen Thani.
history
.jpg)
The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as excavations and traces of settlement show. Historically, Khon Kaen comes into focus with the Dvaravati period (around 8th to 11th centuries). Thereafter, the area was ruled by the Khmer Empire of Angkor .
The city was founded around 1789 under the name Ban Bueng Bon as the fourth colony of the Lao Kingdom of Champasak in the basin of the Mae Nam Chi (Chi River) . Its first inhabitants came from Müang Suwannaphum in what is now the province of Roi Et . Champasak was a vassal principality of Siam at the time . The original location of the city is marked by the Phra That Kham Kaen temple, about 30 kilometers from the current city location. Soon Khon Kaen broke away from Champasak and established direct relations with the Siamese crown. The tax and labor services to be paid were lower. In 1797, according to the Chronicle of Monthon Isan , it was promoted to Müang and renamed Khon Kaen. Khon Kaen was a relatively insignificant Müang or later a province . In 1933, Khon Kaen was connected to Bangkok by a railway line.
The present city center was laid out in the mid-1960s, according to a plan by the dictatorial Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat , who wanted to make Khon Kaen the unofficial capital of the northeast region. Sarit himself grew up in Isan and was concerned with the development of the region. He had also helped found Khon Kaen University, the first university in the Northeast and one of the first universities in general outside of Bangkok. A memorial was erected in his honor in Khon Kaen in 1984.
In 1964, Khon Kaen was connected to Bangkok via the Thanon Mittraphap , the northeast's first all-weather expressway. In the following years Khon Kaen got an airport and 1975 a university hospital (named after the mother of the king Srinagarind hospital). The excellent infrastructure favored the settlement of businesses and the rapid growth of the population. In 1995 it got the administrative status of a big city (Thesaban Nakhon) . The airport was expanded in 2005 according to international standards.
Attractions
- National Museum Khon Kaen (Thai: พิ พ ธ ภัณฑ สถาน แห่ง ชาติ ขอนแก่น ) - with the Bronze Age finds from the place Ban Chiang , some of which are more than 5000 years old. One section shows objects from the Dvaravati period (Buddha statues, votive tablets , jewelry). In the courtyard you can see several Bai Sema decorated with reliefs, also from the Dvaravati period. Everyday objects of the farmers and silk production as well as a historical overview of the province complete the offer ( see also: National Museum in Thailand ).
- Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon (Thai: พระ มหาธาตุ แก่น นคร ) - the 9-story stupa in Wat Nong Waeng ( วัด หนอง แวง ), hence also called "Phra That Nong Waeng" ( พระ ธาตุ หนอง แวง ), is located in the southeast of the city.
- Bueng Kaen Nakhon (Thai: บึง แก่น นคร ) - the lake in the southeastern part of the city is the local recreational area. Many restaurants and entertainment venues open around the lake in the evening.
- Hong Mun Mang (Thai: โฮ ง มูน มั ง ) - Museum at Bueng Kaen Nakhon
Local festivals
- Khon Kaen International Marathon - late January / early February
- Agricultural fair - late January / early February
- Silk Festival - at the end of November / beginning of December there are dances and parades with a show of the silk weavers
- Thai-German festival at the university
Sports
The football club Khon Kaen United FC is based in Khon Kaen.
Personalities
- Seksan Chaothonglang (* 1983), football player
- Panuwat Kongchan (born 1983), football player
- Kitsada Hemvipat (* 1984), football player
- Wicha Nantasri (* 1986), football player
- Piyaphon Phanichakul (* 1987), football player
- Pairote Sokam (* 1987), soccer player
- Piyawat Intarapim (* 1988), football player
- Tassanapong Muaddarak (* 1991), football player
- Athibordee Atirat (* 1992), football player
- Paphawin Sirithongsopha (* 1992), football player
- Sunisa Khotseemueang (* 1993), heptathlete
- Saranon Anuin (* 1994), football player
- Prasit Jantum (* 1995), soccer player
- Phattharaphol Khamsuk (born 1996), football player
- Apirak Woravong (* 1996), football player
- Sirimongkhon Jitbanjong (born 1997), football player
- Sarawin Saengra (* 1997), football player
- Jaturapat Sattham (* 1999), football player
Individual evidence
- ^ Volker Grabowsky : Brief history of Thailand. CH Beck, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-60129-3 , p. 91.
- ↑ a b Hayao Fukui: Northeast Thailand. In: Food and Population in a Northeast Thai Village. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1993, pp. 44-45.
- ↑ Thana Poopat: Dictator Sarit's image burnished. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Nation , July 24, 2001.
- ↑ Thak Chaloemtiarana: Thailand. The Politics of Despotic Paternalism. Cornell Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca NY 2007, ISBN 978-0-87727-742-2 , p. 257.
- ↑ Announcement of the 13th Khon Kaen International Marathon: January 24, 2016 (in English and Thai)
- ↑ The 16th Agricultural Day - Khon Kaen University website (in English). Archived from the original on July 1, 2012 ; accessed on November 29, 2015 .
- ↑ KKU Cultural Show at Silk Fair - Khon Kaen University website (in English). Archived from the original on July 11, 2012 ; accessed on November 29, 2015 .
- ↑ 19th Thai-German Festival November 2008 - Khon Kaen University website (in English). Archived from the original on July 1, 2012 ; accessed on November 29, 2015 .
Web links
- City map of Khon Kaen (names in English and Thai) [Accessed March 5, 2014]
- OpenStreetMap Khon Kaen .
