Sam Phran ( th, สามพราน, ) is the southernmost district (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

'') of Nakhon Pathom province,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

History

The district was established in 1896, then named Talat Mai District. It was renamed Sam Phran in 1917. The name ''Sam Phran'', meaning 'three hunters', refers to the three hunters according to

local folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

about the construction of

Phra Pathom Chedi Phra Pathommachedi or Phra Pathom Chedi ( th, พระปฐมเจดีย์) is a Buddhist stupa in Thailand. The stupa is located in the Wat Phra Pathommachedi Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan ( th, วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์ร ...

. The district was the site of the

Kader Toy Factory fire The Kader Toy Factory fire occurred on 10 May 1993 at a factory in Thailand. It is considered the worst industrial factory fire in history, killing 188 persons, and injuring 469. Most of the victims were young female workers from rural families. ...

in 1993, the worst industrial factory fire in history. The factory was owned by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, a Thai transnational corporation and one of Asia's largest

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

firms.

Geography

The district is elongated in an east-west direction and neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Mueang Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Chai Si, and

Phutthamonthon Phutthamonthon (, ; also spelled Buddha Monthon; from Sanskrit ''Buddha Máṇḍala'', 'Buddha's sphere') is a Buddhist park in Salaya subdistrict of Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. The park is situated just outside ...

of Nakhon Pathom Province, Thawi Watthana district and Nong Khaem of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estima ...

Krathum Baen Krathum Baen ( th, กระทุ่มแบน) is a town ''(Thesaban Mueang)'' in the Krathum Baen District ''(Amphoe)'' of Samut Sakhon Province in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region of Central Thailand Central Thailand (Central plain) or mo ...

and Ban Phaeo of Samut Sakhon province, and Bang Phae of Ratchaburi province. The main water resource of the district is the large

Tha Chin The Tha Chin river ( th, แม่น้ำท่าจีน, , ) is a distributary of the Chao Phraya river, Thailand. It splits near the province of Chai Nat and then flows west from the Chao Phraya through the central plains, until it empt ...

River or Nakhon Chai Si River which meanders through the district in a southeasterly direction. Sam Phran district has evolved as a ribbon development of ''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

s'' (sub-districts) along Phetkasem Road, a major thoroughfare linking

with the cities of ''Nakhon Pathom'' and Kanchanaburi.

Economy

The district is the site of two Wai Wai noodle factories, one each in ''Om Yai'' and ''Rai Khing''. The Tha Kham Sub-district (usually written ''Takham''), is the centre of the Roman Catholic Christian religion in Thailand.

Michael Michai Kitbunchu Michael Michai Kitbunchu ( th, ไมเกิ้ล มีชัย กิจบุญชู, ; born 25 January 1929) is a Thai prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bangkok from 1973 to 2009 and was elevated to the car ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of Thailand, was born in Sam Phran and many Catholic

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

s have their convents, monasteries, and headquarters in the area as well as Thailand's major seminary. The largest and most important installation in the Catholic enclave of Tha Kham is the campus shared by

Joseph Upatham School , motto_translation = Pray and work , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholicism , enrollment_as_of = , free_label = , free_text = , test_name = , established = , founded = , opened ...

, one of the largest combined kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools in the country. It is one of the 43 schools and colleges governed by the Education Department of Bangkok Archdiocese (EDBA). The Ban Phu Waan Pastoral Training Centre, a leading Catholic conference and convention centre is also here. There are several other large private schools in Tak Kham including St. Peter's school (mixed gender, grades K–9) also governed by the EDBA in the parish of St. Peter, and Marie Upatham, an independent Catholic school for girls in the Tha Kham village of Mor Sii. Sam Phran is the site of the National Police Academy and numerous other colleges including St. Joseph Intertechnology College, a Catholic vocational school and teacher training centre also governed by the EDBA.

Administration

The district is divided into 16 sub-districts (''

s''), which are further subdivided into 137 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

s''). Sam Phran is a town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') and Om Yai a sub-district municipality (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

''). There are a further 15 tambon administrative organizations (TAO).

Places of interest

Wat Rai Khing 250px, Luang Por Wat Rai Khing Wat Rai Khing ( th, วัดไร่ขิง, ; ) is another prominent and notable temple in Nakhon Pathom province in addition to Wat Phra Pathom Chedi, which is the provincial temple. Wat Rai Khing is locate ...

(วัดไร่ขิง), temple on the Nakhon Chai Si River (Tha Chin River) *Rose Garden Riverside (สวนสามพราน),

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

* Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo (ลานแสดงช้างและฟาร์มจระเข้สามพราน), crocodile farm and zoo, a branch of

Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo The Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo ( th, ฟาร์ม จระเข้ สมุทรปราการ ) is a crocodile zoo in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand. The park claims to hold the world's largest crocodile in captivity, na ...

*Samphran Peacock Park (สวนนกยูงสามพราน),

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

park and zoo * Royal Police Cadet Academy (โรงเรียนนายร้อยตำรวจ), Royal Thai Police (RTP) academy *

Don Wai Floating Market Don Wai Market, 250px Don Wai Market ( th, ตลาดน้ำวัดดอนหวาย, ตลาดน้ำดอนหวาย, lit. "(Wat) Don Wai Water Market", but sometimes translated as "floating market") Is a riverside market in ...

(ตลาดน้ำดอนหวาย),

floating market A floating market is a market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractions, and are chie ...

Notable people

* Chanathip "Messi-J" Songkrasin, Thai professional footballer *

, Cardinal of Thailand *

Pallop Pinmanee Pallop Pinmanee ( th, พัลลภ ปิ่นมณี,, born 25 May 1936) is a retired Thai Army general who took part in several coups, ordered the massacre of insurgents at Krue Sae Mosque and allegedly played a role in the attempted c ...

, a retired Thai Army general

References

External links

amphoe.com
(Thai) Website of district
(Thai)--> {{Authority control Sam Phran