St. Joseph Church

Ayutthaya Province

St. Joseph Church

(วัดนักบุญยอแซฟ)

Bishop Lanbrade de Lamot, one of the great leaders of the seven missions assigned by the patriarch to establish Christianity overseas, arrived in Ayutthaya in 1662. Actually, he intended to go to China, but came to Ayutthaya instead because his ship was wrecked in a storm. Also, at that time there was strong dispute against Christianity in China. Thus, Bishop Lanbrade de Lamot stayed in the Vietnamese camp. In 1665, Bishop Lanbrade asded King Narai the Great for the Pemission to establish a school in Ayutthaya. Fortunately, the King supported him with land and building materials. The school was later called "St. Joseph Camp." In 1669, a small hospital was built in the camp, and Father Lano was the doctor there. In 1679, Father Lano was appointed the mission leader in Siam by the Patriarch in Rome. The appointment made Ayutthaya become the center of other missions, and it was formally celebrated on March 25th, 1685. After King Narai the Great passed away in 1688, there was great dispute about religions in Ayutthaya. Since then Christianity in Siam had faced many obstacles. When Ayutthaya was conquered in 1767, St. Joseph Church was completely destroyed.

Wat Chaiwatthanaram

Ayutthaya Province

Wat Chaiwatthanaram

(วัดไชยวัฒนาราม)

Wat Chaiwatthanaram, one of the most imposing ancient Buddhist monasteries, was esablished by the command of King Prasatthong in 1630 A.D. It is believed that this wat is located on the site of his former home. The reason for building this monastery was to make merit for his mother. The historian Prince Damrong Rachanuphap noted that its architecture was similar to that of Angkor Wat and was infered that the Wat might have been built to commemorate the king's victory over Cambodia. This Wat consists of a main prang (Khmer-type tower) and four lesser prangs, all built on the same base and surrounded by eight lesser prangs and a gallery. Along the gallery were placed 120 gilt lacquered Buddha images in the attitude of maravijaya, or Victory over Mara, the Evil One. Within the eight lesser prangs there are twelve crowned Buddha images.

Kum Khun Paen

Ayutthaya Province

Kum Khun Paen (คุ้มขุนแผน)

Kum Khun Paen is located near Prasrisanpet Street, across from Wat Praram, and it is near Wat Kes. At one time, this place had a large prison called Talaengkaeng, where Prisoners of big cases were beheaded. Their heads were posted to condemn them publicly. Sometimes, some Prisoners were publicly roasted or flogged. The public executions were aimed to restrain other people from misdeeds. Kum Khun Paen was designed as 5 ancient Thai houses. It was formerly used as the residence of His Royal Higness Khun Marupong, the first chief of the city. The house is called "kum" in the North of Thailand. The location of Kum Khun Paen where the prison had been founded is a metaphor to a hero of Thai litearature. Khun Paen, who was imprisoned. Thus, the house is named Kum Khun Paen. Currently, the Fine Arts Department uses Kum Khun Paen as the museum of Thai houses. Kum Khun Paen has displays of daily utensils of Thai people from the Ayutthaya Era. The displays are for thepublic to learn and recognize Thai architecture, which is almost disappeared from Thailand. It is opened for the public without fees.