Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Next to Wat Phra Si Sanphet is this sanctuary hall, which houses one of the largest
bronze Buddha images in Thailand. The 17m-high figure has undergone several
facelifts due to lightning strikes and fire.
In 1955 the Burmese Prime Minister visited and donated 200,000B to help re-
store the building, an act of belated atonement for his country's sacking of the city
200 years earlier.
WAT PHRA MAHATHAT
Temple
( admission 50B)
The most photographed image in Ayuthaya is here; a sandstone
Buddha head that lies mysteriously tangled within a tree's entwined roots. Built in
1374 during the reign of King Borom Rachathirat I, Wat Phra Mahathat also has a
central
prang
(Khmer-style stupa) and rows of headless Buddha images. Nobody
knows for sure how the Buddha head ended up in the tree. Some say the head was
abandoned after the Burmese sacked Ayuthaya, and trees subsequently grew
around it. Others believe thieves tried to steal the image, but gave up as it was too
heavy.
Audio Guides
Audio guides (150B) can be hired at Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Phra Mahathat and Wat
Chai Wattanaram. The English-language guides provide excellent background information
and vivid detail that help visitors imagine exactly what once stood on these sites.
WAT RATBURANA
Temple
( Ratcha-burana; admission 50B)
The
prang
in this temple is one of the best extant
versions in the city, with detailed carvings of lotus and mythical creatures. The
temple, just north of Wat Phra Mahathat, was built in the 15th century by King
Borom Rachathirat II on the cremation site for his two brothers who both died while
fighting each other for the throne. Looters raided the site in 1957 and sole many
treasures. Some of the culprits were arrested and a subsequent official excavation
of the site uncovered many rare Buddha images in the crypt.
