Thailand > Ayutthaya > Bang Pa in District > Wat Niwet Thamprawat

“An imitation of a western church in 1878 was built by His Majesty King Chulalongkorn. The building and decoration are made in Gothic style. There is a beautifully decorated stained glass.”

This is the monastery located to the south of an island in the Chao Phraya River, on the river bank opposite the royal palace.

In 1878, King Rama V ordered its construction to have the same architectural style of a Western cathedral. The building and its decorations are of Gothic style and beautified with colorful stained glass. The base; where the principal image of Buddha and his followers were placed, was designed to resemble the one for the Cross in a Christian church, not a traditional Chukkachi base as seen in general. The window blocks were especially made for curved windows. On the Ubosot wall in front of the principal Buddha image, there is a picture of King Rama V created with stained glass. Situated to the right of the Ubosot is Ho Phra Khanthararat, a shrine where Phra Khanthararat - a Buddha image in the posture of requesting rain, is put for worship. Opposite Ho Phra Khanthararat is another shrine, which is the house of a seated stone Buddha image protected by a seven headed naga. It is an ancient Buddha image aged a thousand years, built in the Lopburi period by a Khmer Craftsman. This venerated Buddha image is very close to the big banyan tree that spreads its branches to shade the area in front fo the Ubosot.

Not far from the Ubosot, there is a cluster of stones naturally found in Thailand, which contains the relics of Chaochommanda Chum, a consort of King Rama IV and mother of Prince (Somdet Kromphraya) Damrong Rajanubhab and the members of the Diskul family. From Bang Pa In Palace, visitors can access the monastery through a cable car that carries 6-8 passengers at a time. The fare depends on the passengers contributions.