250px, Ordination hall of the temple. Wat Suwannaram Ratchaworawihan ( th, วัดสุวรรณาราม ราชวรวิหาร) or usually shortened to Wat Suwannaram and Wat Suwan (วัดสุวรรณาราม, วัดสุวรรณ; RTGS: Wat Suwan Naram, Wat Suwan) is an historic second-class royal temple 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 ...

located in

Soi ''Soi'' ( th, ซอย ) is the term used in Thailand for a side-street branching off a major street (''thanon'', th, ถนน). An alley is called a ''trok'' ( th, ตรอก). Overview Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by th ...

Charan Sanit Wong 32,

Charan Sanit Wong Road 300px, Charan Sanit Wong Road in late 2019 near Charansanitwong Railway Halt and Bang Khun Non MRT Station under construction. Charan Sanit Wong Road ( th, ถนนจรัญสนิทวงศ์, ) is a main road in Bangkok's Thonburi side ( ...

, Siri Rat Subdistrict,

Bangkok Noi District Bangkok Noi ( th, บางกอกน้อย, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Bang Phlat, Phra Nakhon (across Chao Phraya River), Bangkok Yai, Phasi Charoen, an ...

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi ( th, ธนบุรี) is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ...

side, on the western bank of

Khlong Bangkok Noi 250px, Khlong Bangkok Noi near Wat Sri Sudaram Khlong Bangkok Noi ( th, คลองบางกอกน้อย, ; lit 'Small Bangkok Canal') is a '' khlong'' (คลอง; canal) in Bangkok; its name is the origin of the name Bangkok Noi Dis ...

History

The temple dates back to the

Ayutthaya period The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...

, when it was known as "Wat Thong" (วัดทอง; lit: ''golden monastery'') without apparent evidence of the builder. Later on, in the era of King

Taksin King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew dialect, Teochew: Dên ...

Thonburi Kingdom The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Thai people, Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin ...

, it was used as the execution ground for Burmese prisoners of war similar to Wat Khok (now Wat Phlapphla Chai) in today's

Phlapphla Chai Phlapphla Chai ( th, พลับพลาไชย, ) is the name of a road in Bangkok's Pom Prap and Wat Thep Sirin sub-districts, Pom Prap Sattru Phai District, and also the five-way intersection of the road with Luang and Maitri Chit Roads. I ...

area. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) bestowed the name Wat Suwannaram, indicating royal patronage. Until the reign of 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) the grounds of Wat Suwannaram were also used as the Royal Cremation site for members of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

and top ranking officials of the Kingdom. King

Nangklao Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam u ...

(Rama III), restored the temple and sponsored the painting of murals in the ordination hall by two famous artists named Luang Wichijesda or Kru Thong Yu and Chinese Luang Seniborirak or Kru Kong Pae. They competed with each other during the painting using a veil so their unfinished artwork could not be seen. The murals are painted in traditional Thai-style depicting stories of Prince Nemi and Prince Mahosadha from the Mahanipata Jataka. The murals of this temple are considered masterpiece paintings of the Rattanakosin era with 80 percent preserved. The architecture of the ordination hall is also of interest, the building being curved like a Chinese junk in the style of late Ayutthaya period. Around Wat Suwannaram there are still traditional communities with a long history such as

Ban Bu Ban Bu Community ( th, ชุมชนบ้านบุ; or simply Ban Bu) is a traditional community in the Siri Rat Subdistrict, Bangkok Noi District, Bangkok's Thonburi side. It is regarded as the last source of bronzework handicraft makers i ...

, the last community of bronzework handicraft makers in Bangkok, Wat Thong Market, the local

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

for more than 100 years, an old traditional Thai medicine pharmacy, Bangkok Noi Museum, Wat Suwannaram School, and nearby the historic railway station

Bangkok Noi Railway Station The old Thonburi station ( th, สถานีธนบุรีเดิม, ), originally known as Bangkok Noi station ( th, สถานีบางกอกน้อย), is a former railway station in Bangkok, Thailand. It was the terminus ...

Principal Buddha image

The temple's principal Buddha image known as "Phra Satsada" (พระศาสดา; "prophet Buddha") is believed to be a very sacred Buddha image. There are many people who come to make vows each day. To make vows people bring a loincloth to tie around the waist and run around the ordination hall three times along with making the sound like a horse; this is called "running the horse".

Ghost stories

Because it used to be an execution ground the temple is rumored to be a haunted place. There is a standing

spirit house A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of smal ...

for the Burmese soldier spirits on the playground of the current school of Wat Suwannaram. There are people claiming to have seen '' preta'' on the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, including the male headless ghost with red ''

chong kraben ''Sompot Chong Kben'' ( km, សំពត់ចងក្បិន, ; th, โจงกระเบน, ; lo, ຜ້າຫາງ, ''pha hang'') is a unisex, lower body, wraparound cloth worn in the countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. It i ...

'', and one of security guards claims to have seen a woman ghost at the pier about 2:00 a.m.

References

External links

* {{coord, 13, 45, 47.9, N, 100, 28, 36.6, E, display=title Buddhist temples in Bangkok Tourist attractions in Bangkok Bangkok Noi district Thai Theravada Buddhist temples and monasteries Registered ancient monuments in Bangkok