Wat Samphanthawongsaram Worawiharn ( th, วัดสัมพันธวงศาราม วรวิหาร), also known in short Wat Samphanthawongsaram is a third grade royal Buddhist temple of Worawihan in

Dhammayuttika Nikaya Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (monk ...

sect. It is situated in the area of

Sampheng Sampheng ( th, สำเพ็ง, ) is a historic neighbourhood and market in Bangkok's Chinatown, in Samphanthawong District. It was settled during the establishment of Bangkok in 1782 by Teochew Chinese, and eventually grew into the surroundi ...

, also known as

Bangkok's Chinatown Bangkok's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. It was founded in 1782 when the city was established as the capital of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and served as the home of the mainly Teochew immigrant Chinese population, who ...

. The monastery is an ancient temple, which was built in Ayutthaya period. It was formerly surrounded by natural khlong (canal) bridging to Chao Phraya River which brought its local name ''Wat Ko'' (the island temple). In the beginning of Rattanakosin in 1796,

King Rama I Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Tha ...

renovated the entire temple and made it a royal temple with the name ''Wat Ko Kaew Langkaram''. Later on, in the reign of

King Rama IV Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

, the name was changed to Wat Samphanthawongsaram Worawiharn in present, to honour Prince Samphanthawong (Chui), King Rama I's nephew who was the head of major temple restoration (its name also became the name of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

later). The principal Buddha image inside the ordination hall is a seated Buddha in Maravijaya attitude, made of hollow log with lime covering. The image's arms are made of wood with gold application. Inside the image and under its base contain numbers of silver and lead votive tablets. The area of the temple was once the first lodging in

Dan Beach Bradley Dan Beach Bradley (18 July 1804 – 23 June 1873) was an American Protestant missionary to Siam from 1835 until his death. He is credited with numerous firsts, including, bringing the first Thai-script printing press to Siam, publishing the first ...

's country of Siam (Thailand in those days), an American physician and Protestant missionary who came to Siam to evangelize. He was also the founder of the first printing house in Siam. For this reason, there were many printing houses around the temple in those days. In the reign of

King Rama V 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� ...

, he presided over the Thot Kathin ceremony at this temple along with nearby temple

Wat Pathum Khongkha Wat Pathum Khongkha Ratchaworawihan, or simple known as Wat Pathum Khongkha ( th, วัดปทุมคงคาราชวรวิหาร, วัดปทุมคงคา) is a second class royal temple in the Talat Noi area of Bangko ...

. Moreover, in the 1932 Siamese revolution. The naval faction 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 ...

(People's Party), they have mobilised about 500 armed sailors occupying the Royal Plaza in the dawn of June 24, 1932, claiming to suppress the Chinese uprising at this temple.

References

Samphanthawong district category:Buddhist temples in Bangkok category:Unregistered ancient monuments in Bangkok {{Buddhist-temple-stub