Saranrom Park ( th, สวนสราญรมย์, , ) is a public park in

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 ...

. It is located opposite the

Grand Palace The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Ban ...

, between Sanam Chai, Charoen Krung and Rachini roads in Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District. The park occupies the former grounds of Saranrom Palace, which was built in 1866 and served as the residences of several princes and royal guests. The palace gardens were converted to serve as a public park under the

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governme ...

in 1960.

History

In the past Saranrom Park was the part of Saranrom Palace which was established in 1874 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� ...

(RamaV) on the advice of

Henry Alabaster Henry Alabaster (22 May 1836 – 9 August 1884) was a British-born diplomat who became an advisor to King Chulalongkorn of Siam. Early life and family Henry Alabaster was born in 1836, the son of James Chaloner Alabaster and Harriet Woodman. Hi ...

who desired this park to be similar to other country. It was decorated by fountains, garden flowers, orchids, perennial plant especially “red roses” which were a favorite flowers of Rama V and there are bird cages and animal cages in the park at that moment. Later in 1904, King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

(Rama VI) used this park to train military skills to royal guard and was center place for tradition and culture. This place held “winter events” once during Rama VI reign and in 1932 King

Prajadhipok Prajadhipok ( th, ประชาธิปก, RTGS: ''Prachathipok'', 8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941), also Rama VII, was the seventh monarch of Siam of the Chakri dynasty. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and ...

(Rama VII) gave this place to be a location of

Khana Ratsadon The People's Party, known in Thai as Khana Ratsadon ( th, คณะราษฎร, ), was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless revolution against King Prajadhipok's government a ...

's office where a constitution celebration was held annually on 10 December. Siam's first annual national

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

''Miss Siam'' (later

Miss Thailand Miss Thailand ( th, นางสาวไทย; ), is a beauty pageant held in Thailand for Thai women, first held on December 10, 1934, in Phra Nakhon District of Bangkok, under the name of Miss Siam ( th, นางสาวสยาม; ). Th ...

) was also held as a part of the yearly celebration. Later in 3 June 1960 this park was donated by government to

to be a public place for people in Bangkok.

Points of Interest

Queen Sunanda Kumariratana Memorial

The memorial was built in 1886, surrounded with lanthom shrubs. It was built on the spot that was claimed to be favoured by Queen Sunanda Kumariratana when she visited, then, the garden. The memorial was built with white marble in the manner of ''phra prang'' with her ashes included on the top. All four sides of the memorial are inscription slabs detailing the grievances of her husband, the King

. Three of them are scripted in Thai and one in English. Crown Prince

Vajirunhis Maha Vajirunhis, Crown Prince of Siam ( th, มหาวชิรุณหิศ; ; 27 June 1878 – 4 January 1895) was the first Crown Prince of Thailand, Crown Prince of the Chakri dynasty. He was the first son of King Chulalongkorn and Queen ...

ceremonially opened the monument on 28 June 1886.

People’s Party Society Building

People's Party Society (

's Club at Saranrom; สโมสรคณะราษฎร์สราญรมย์) was the office of a political organisation, People's Party which after successfully led the Siamese revolution of 1932 had turned into a political club. The one-storied building was built in . At the entrance lied a mirror-decorated sculpture depicting the

Constitution of Thailand The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand ( th, รัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย; ) provides the basis for the rule of law in Thailand. Since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932, T ...

on a phan, the symbol of newly incepted constitution which Khana Ratsadon attempted to popularise at the time. During the party's occupation, the park was used as the venue for the annual Constitution Celebration on December 10. The building now houses the park's office.

Greenhouse

The Greenhouse, despite being built as a Victorian-style greenhouse, it was not used for botanical purposes. Indeed, it was the location of Thawi Panya Club (สโมสรทวีปัญญา) which was the meeting place for Siamese elites to mix and mingle, play cards, read books, and act in plays. The building now lies in disrepair and being use as the park's storage facility.

Chao Mae Takhian Thong Shrine

San Chao Mae Takhian Thong: There was no account on when the shrine was incepted. It was rebuilt in the 1910s as a three-storied

Chinese Pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

. The shrine houses the spirit of Chao Mae Takhian Thong in the ''

Hopea odorata ''Hopea odorata'', or ta-khian ( th, ตะเคียน), is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a large tree reaching up to 45 m ...

'' log located in the pagoda.

Nearby places

Saranrom Park is located near temples and palaces for example,

Wat Pho Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Grand P ...

which is popular place for tourists,

Wat Ratchapradit Wat Ratchapradit Sathit Mahasimaram Ratcha Wora Maha Viharn ( th, วัดราชประดิษฐสถิตมหาสีมารามราชวรวิหาร) is a Buddhist temple in the Phra Nakhon District of Bangkok. Wat R ...

and Saranrom Palace

Social issue

During nighttime til dawn of new day the neighbouring around Saranrom Park such as

Sanam Luang Sanam Luang ( th, สนามหลวง, ; lit: 'royal turf') is a open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok. ...

Atsadang Road Atsadang Road ( th, ถนนอัษฎางค์, , ) is a road in inner Bangkok (Rattanakosin Island) overlaps four Subdistricts of Phra Nakhon District, Bowon Niwet, San Chaopho Suea, Wat Ratchabophit, and Wang Burapha Phirom. It's start ...

, Saphan Mon, are the sources of

male prostitute Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

They In Modern English, ''they'' is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''they'' has five distinct word forms: * ''they'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''them'': the accusat ...

were often young boys, dressed in different outfits such as military or sportswear.

Gallery

File:ศาลเจ้าแม่ตะเคียนทอง สวนสราญรมย์ - Chao Mae Takhian Thong Shrine, Saranrom Park 01.jpg, Chao Mae Takhian Thong Srhine, built in Chinese pagoda style File:ประตูเหล็กหล่อ สวนสราญรมย์ Cast iron gate Saranrom Park.jpg, The cast-iron gate of the park File:สโมสรราษฎร์สราญรมย์ Rat Saransom Society Building 02.jpg, Sculpture of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

on the Phan at the

's Club at Saranrom File:อนุสาวรีย์สมเด็จพระนางเจ้าสุนันทากุมารีรัตน์ สวนสราญรมย์ 01.jpg, Queen Sunanda Kumariratana Memorial in Saranrom Park File:อาคารทวีปัญญาสโมสร (เรือนกระจก สวนสราญรมย์) Greenhouse at Saranrom Park 01.jpg, The greenhouse, formerly Thawi Panya Club File:อาคารทวีปัญญาสโมสร (เรือนกระจก สวนสราญรมย์) Greenhouse at Saranrom Park 05.jpg, The greenhouse, formerly Thawi Panya Club

References

Parks in Bangkok Phra Nakhon district category:1960 establishments in Thailand category:1960s establishments in Thailand {{Bangkok-stub