Phra Khanong
| Phra Khanong พระโขนง |
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|---|---|
| Data | |
| Province: | Bangkok |
| Surface: | 13.986 km² |
| Residents: | 92,774 (2013) |
| Population density : | 7069.5 U / km² |
| ZIP : | 10260 |
| Geocode : | 1009 |
| map | |
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| Bangkok boroughs | |
Phra Khanong ( Thai : พระโขนง ) is one of the 50 khet (districts) in Bangkok , the capital of Thailand . Phra Khanong is located in the southeast downtown area along Sukhumvit Road .
geography
The neighboring districts are clockwise from the north: Khlong Toei , Watthana , Suan Luang , Prawet and Bang Na . To the west, on the other bank of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya ( Chao Phraya River ) in the Samut Prakan province, is the Amphoe Phra Pradaeng .
history
Phra Khanong was still an amphoe of Nakhon Khuan Khan in 1902 . Nakhon Khuan Khan was renamed Phra Pradaeng in 1914. In 1927, Phra Khanong was separated from the then Phra Pradaeng Province and incorporated into the city of Bangkok. At first it was quite a large district, but was then divided into numerous smaller ones. The districts of Khlong Toei , Watthana , Suan Luang , Prawet and Bang Na were once part of Phra Khanong.
The word Khanong comes from the Khmer language and means eyebrow. Since the history of Phra Pradaeng goes back over 1000 years, back to the time when this area was still part of the Khmer Empire and was long regarded as a gateway to the sea, the name could also come from Khanon (ขนอน), meaning customs house .
Important temples
- Wat Tham Mongkhon ( วัด ธรรมมงคล ) - Buddhist temple ( Wat ) in Soi 101 ( Soi = side street) of Sukhumvit Road , founded in 1962, with one of the highest chedis in Thailand. This chedi is called Phra Wiriya Mongkhon Maha Chedi ( พระ วิริยะ มงคล มหา เจดีย์ ), it has a square floor plan and is built in the style of the Mahabodhi temple in India. The tip is said to be adorned with 17 kg of gold and 1,063 diamonds. Inside there is a large jade Buddha statue and a statue of Kuan Yin .
folklore
Phra Khanong is the setting for the story of the Mae Nak , one of the most famous and widespread Thai ghost legends. It is set in the 19th century, when Phra Khanong was still a canal-traversed settlement surrounded by forest at the gates of Bangkok. It is about a beautiful woman who dies giving birth to her child while her conscripted husband, named Mak, is on a war mission far from home. However, the love for her husband is so great that after his return she appears to him as a ghost and continues to live with him. At first he does not notice that the figure of his caring wife is not a living person, but an undead image. Neighbors who want to warn Mak are cruelly killed by the spirit of the Mae Nak. Ultimately, a miracle-working monk succeeds, according to tradition according to Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To) , to pacify the spirit and to end their terror against the village community.
Mae Nak is revered by the locals as the guardian spirit of soldiers (or conscripts who want to avoid being drafted), the sick and children, as well as the lucky charm of women with an unfulfilled desire to have children and the lottery players who make their sacrifices and implore them for assistance. The story of the Mae Nak of Phra Khanong is the subject of novels, dramas, poems, comics, graphic novels, an opera, a radio radio play, numerous films (e.g. The Spirit of Mae Nak , 2005) and television series. The Wat Mahabut temple with the Mae Nak shrine has not been in the Khet Phra Khanong since the districts were redistributed in 1997 , but was assigned to the neighboring district of Suan Luang . Locals protested against the drawing of the district borders, because Mae Nak is a guardian spirit and an important figure of identification of Phra Khanong and her shrine should therefore be located within the district. However, this was not taken into account.
Shopping
The local shops are mainly geared towards local residents. There are several department stores such as Thai Daimaru, ATM and Asia. But an open market and numerous shops for daily needs are also open. The prices are much cheaper here than in the exclusive shopping areas like Siam Square . There is a large selection of electrical devices available and typically particularly inexpensive.
transport
In the Phra Kanong district there are two stations on the Sukhumvit line of the Bangkok Skytrain : Bang Chak and Punnawithi .
administration
The district has only one sub-district ( Khwaeng ) :
| No. | Name Khwaeng | Thai | Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bang Chak | บางจาก | 92,774 |
Individual evidence
- ^ Justin Thomas McDaniel: The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk. Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand. Columbia University Press, New York 2014, p. 1.
- ^ Justin Thomas McDaniel: The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk. 2014, p. 5.
- ^ Justin Thomas McDaniel: The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk. 2014, pp. 176–178.
- ^ Justin Thomas McDaniel: The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk. 2014, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Ronald Green: Buddhism Goes to the Movies. Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice. Routledge, New York / Abingdon (Oxon) 2014, p. 133, fn. 4.
- ↑ 2013 population statistics ( Thai ) Department of Provincial Administration. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
Web links
- Phra Khanong Administration website (in Thai)
Coordinates: 13 ° 42 ' N , 100 ° 36' E