Victory Monument (Bangkok)

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The Victory Monument and the roundabout

The Victory Monument ( Thai อนุสาวรีย์ ชัยสมรภูมิ , RTGS Anusawari Chai Samonraphum , pronunciation: [ʔàʔnúʔsǎːwáʔriː t͡ɕʰaj sàʔmɔ̌ːnráʔpʰuːm] or [sàʔmɔ̌ːráʔpʰuːm] , literally "monument of victory on the battlefield," short อนุสาวรีย์ ชัย ฯ , Anusawari Chai; English Victory Monument ) is greater Plant in the northeast of the center of Bangkok , Ratchathewi district , within the roundabout with the access roads Thanon Phahonyothin , Thanon Phayathai and Thanon Ratchawithi . It forms one of the most famous landmarks of the Thai capital.

meaning

Victory Monument

The monument commemorates the temporary reintegration of formerly Siamese- controlled areas in western Cambodia and in northern and southern Laos as a result of the Franco-Thai war in 1940/41. In fact, the fighting in December 1940 and January 1941 were brief and indecisive. 59 Thais lost their lives. The final decision on the whereabouts of the territories was made by Japan , which did not want a war between two military allies in Southeast Asia. Thailand received fewer territories than it expected and France had to give up more than it wanted to admit. Still, the Thai regime under Field Marshal Plaek Phibulsongkram decided to celebrate a great victory. The Victory Monument was commissioned, designed and erected within a year.

Building history and facility

detail

The monument was erected in 1941. The design, which mainly comes from the architect ML Pum Malakul, is kept in a European style and is in clear contrast to the nearby democracy monument , which also shows local style elements. Because it stands in the middle of a large roundabout where two main traffic arteries intersect, residents and visitors of the capital are deliberately forced to drive around the monument according to the ideas of the ruler at the time - comparable to the triumphal arch on the Place de l'Etoile in Paris and Piccadilly Circus in London. As hoped, the square with the Victory Monument actually became an important hub of urban life in Bangkok.

The central obelisk - a symbol often used since ancient Egypt - is designed in the form of five bayonets entwined with one another . On a pentagonal base stand five statues symbolizing the armed forces: an army soldier, a sailor, an aviator, a police officer and a civilian volunteer. They carry the heroic features of the contemporary fascist and communist understanding of art and were designed by the Italian sculptor Corrado Feroci (under the Thai name Silpa Birasi). The artist, however, did not agree with the arrangement of his statues in front of the obelisk and later called the complex the "victory of embarrassment" (victory of embarrassment).

The memorial became embarrassing in a more political sense in 1945 when the Allied victory over Japan forced Thailand to surrender the "conquered" territories back to France. Many Thai see the monument as an unsuitable symbol of militarism and a relic from the time of a now discredited regime.

transport

Bird's eye view of monument, roundabout and skytrain station.

The square on which the monument stands is one of the busiest intersections or roundabouts in the capital. The Skytrain station of the same name is located south of the monument. The Sirat Expressway also has an exit to the Victory Monument. From the bus routes in the capital, lines 8, 12, 14, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 38, 54, 63, 74, 77, 92, 96, 97, 108 and 112 stop here The monument serves as a central transfer point. Many private means of transport (e.g. minibuses to different provinces) also use the square as a meeting point.

At the intersection are the Ratchathewi Hospital, the “Center One” department store, which burned down during the riots in Bangkok in 2010, and the “Fashion Mall” in the former Robinson department store.

literature

  • Ka F. Wong: Visions of a Nation. Public Monuments in Twentieth-Century Thailand. Studies in Contemporary Thailand No. 15, White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2006.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wadee Kheourai: Around Thailand in 99 Days. English for Tourism . Bangkok 1999. p. 31
  2. ↑ Koompong Noobanjong: Power, Identity, and the Rise of Modern Architecture. From Siam to Thailand. Dissertation, University of Colorado, Denver 2003, pp. 261-262.
  3. ↑ Koompong Noobanjong: Power, Identity, and the Rise of Modern Architecture. 2003, p. 262.

Web links

Commons : Victory Monument in Bangkok  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 13 ° 45 ′ 53.7 ″  N , 100 ° 32 ′ 17.9 ″  E