Pratunam, written as Pratu Nam ( th, ประตูน้ำ, ), is an intersection and neighborhood in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
. It is located in Thanon Phaya Thai sub-district,
Ratchathewi district. It is the intersection of
Phetchaburi
Phetchaburi ( th, เพชรบุรี, ) or Phet Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approx ...
,
Ratchadamri
Ratchadamri Road ( th, ถนนราชดำริ, , ; also spelled Rajdamri) is a road in Bangkok. It runs a distance of in a north–south direction from Pratu Nam Intersection, where it meets Phetchaburi Road, Phetchaburi and Ratchaprarop ...
and
Ratchaprarop roads. The next intersection on Ratchaprarop side is
Makkasan.
The term "Pratunam" means "
water gate
A watergate (or water gate) is a fortified gate, leading directly from a castle or town wall directly on to a quay, river side or harbour. In medieval times it enabled people and supplies to reach the castle or fortification directly from the ...
", as at one time there was a water gate within nearby
Sa Pathum Palace, which commonly was known as ''Pratunam Wang Sa Pathum'' or ''Pratunam Sa Pathum'' (ประตูน้ำวังสระปทุม, ประตูน้ำสระปทุม). This water gate was built by
King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
(Rama V) in the year 1905 to drain water from the
Khlong Saen Saep
Khlong Saen Saep (, ) is a canal ''( khlong)'' in central Thailand, connecting the Chao Phraya River to Prachinburi Province and Chachoengsao. A portion of the canal is used for public transport by an express boat service in Bangkok. The 72&nbs ...
(Saen Saep canal) to distribute to the people, both for agriculture, and water levelling
for boating and rafting. There are two other water gates in
Chachoengsao province which were built in the same period.
Currently, Pratunam is widely known as a prominent shopping district. There are many shopping centers and department stores in the area such as
Platinum Fashion Mall,
Pratunam Market
Pratunam Market () is one of Bangkok's major markets, and is Thailand's largest clothing market. The name ''Pratunam'' means 'water gate'.
Overview
The market includes retail stores and outdoor stalls, the latter aimed at tourists. It is at th ...
,
CentralWorld
CentralWorld ( th, เซ็นทรัลเวิลด์, styled as centralwOrld) is a shopping plaza and complex in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the ninth largest shopping complex in the world. The complex, which includes a hotel and office t ...
,
Big C
Big C ( th, บิ๊กซี ซูเปอร์เซ็นเตอร์), is a grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Big C is as of 2016 Thailand's second-largest hypermarket operator after Lotus' ...
Supercenter (Big C Rajdamri), etc. In addition, it is also one of the most important transportation routes in Bangkok. It is close to two other important intersections viz
Ratchaprasong
Ratchaprasong ( th, ราชประสงค์, ; also spelled ''Rajprasong'') is the name of an intersection, and a shopping district named after it, in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, adjacent to the Siam area, at the BTS Skytrain's Chit L ...
and Pathum Wan, and is also a pier for
Khlong Saen Saep boat service.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Pratunamfrom
Wikivoyage
Wikivoyage is a free web-based travel guide for travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. It is a sister project of Wikipedia and supported and hosted by the same non-profit Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Wikivoyage has ...
Road junctions in Bangkok
Neighbourhoods of Bangkok
Ratchathewi district
Shopping districts and streets in Thailand