Wat Phichaiyat

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The great prang of Wat Phichaiyat

Wat Phichaiyat (full name: Wat Phichaiyatikaram Worawihan , Thai : วัด พิชย ญาติกา ราม วรวิหาร ) is a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in Bangkok . Wat Phichaiyat is a Royal Second Class Temple and is located on Thanon Somdet Chao Phraya (Somdet Chao Phraya Road) on the Thonburi side of Mae Nam Chao Phraya in the Khlong San District . Nearby is the Phra Pokklao Bridge .

history

After years of neglect, Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Phichaiyat (That Bunnag ) had the temple renovated in 1841 and presented it to King Nang Klao (Rama III) as a royal temple. The king gave it the name "Wat Phrayatikaram" based on That Bunnag's title. Later King Mongkut (Rama IV.) Gave it its current name, "Wat Phichayatikaram". The locals in the area call it "Wat Phichaiyat" for short.

Footprints of the Four Buddhas

Attractions

  • Ubosot - The Ubosot is built in Sino-Thai style, but without the typical Thai roof decorations such as “ Chofah ”, “Hang Hong” and “Bai Raka”. The gable fields are richly decorated with colored mosaics made of porcelain fragments. The low wall around the ubosot is covered with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the Chinese epic The Story of the Three Kingdoms . The reliefs were brought along from China as ballast in sailing ships on the ancient trade routes.
  • Phra Prang - the prang in Wat Phichaiyat has an unusual threefold design: around the central prang, which is 42 meters high and is visible from afar, a smaller image is grouped to the right and left. Inside the central prang there are four Buddha statues on a common throne that look in the four cardinal directions. In the northern, smaller prang, the rare representation of footprints of the four Buddhas can be seen.
One of the bridges in front of the temple
  • Two old bridges - Directly in front of the temple, a narrow canal ( Khlong ) runs parallel to Thanon Somdet Chao Phraya , over which two delicate bridges lead to the temple. The bridges probably date back to 1925, they are similar to the so-called "elephant hump bridges" that used to be very numerous in Bangkok. They get their nickname from their shape, namely they lead in a rather high arc over the water and were strong enough to bear the weight of elephants. As a special feature, they have steps in the middle to make it easier for pedestrians to cross.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Page about Wat Phichaiyat from bangkoktourist.com, the tourist office of the Bangkok City Council ( Memento from June 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (in English)
  2. ↑ Page about Wat Phichaiyat at dhammathai.org (in English)
  3. ↑ Sirichai Narumit: สะพาน เก่า กรุงเทพ ๆ(Old Bridges Of Bangkok) . The Siam Society, Bangkok 1977 (without ISBN)

Web links

Coordinates: 13 ° 43 '59.3 "  N , 100 ° 29' 48.7"  E