Sathon or Sathorn ( th, สาทร, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

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 b ...

. The district is bounded by six other districts (from north clockwise): Bang Rak, Pathum Wan,

Khlong Toei Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong ...

, Yan Nawa, Bang Kho Laem, and Khlong San (across the Chao Phraya River).

History

Sathon district was once part of Yan Nawa. Due to its large area and population, first a branch district office of Yan Nawa was set up on 9 March 1989 to serve the people in three ''khwaeng'' of Yan Nawa. And then on 9 November 1989, the Sathon district was established inheriting the area once served by the branch office. The district is named after

Sathon Road Sathon Road ( th, ถนนสาทร, , ; also ''Sathorn'' or ''Satorn'') is a major road that passes through the districts of Bang Rak and Sathon in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is an important transportation link between Phra Nakhon and T ...

and

Khlong Sathon Sathon Road ( th, ถนนสาทร, , ; also ''Sathorn'' or ''Satorn'') is a major road that passes through the districts of Bang Rak and Sathon in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is an important transportation link between Phra Nakhon and T ...

. Khlong Sathon, the older of the two, is a canal ('' khlong'') dug for public transportation by a Chinese company. The Chinese owner was later granted the name ''Luang Sathon Racha Yut'' (หลวงสาทรราชายุตก์) by King Chulalongkorn for his accomplishment. Both sides of the canal later became Sathon Road. Incorrect Thai spelling for Sathon สาธร had been used for very long time, but it was corrected in April 1999. His former house is now Sathon Mansion in Bang Rak District.

Administration

The district is divided into three sub-districts (''khwaeng''). The Department of Airports of Thailand is headquartered in Sathon, as was its predecessor, the

Department of Civil Aviation A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

. Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (AEROTHAI) and

Bangkok Dock Company The Bangkok Dock Company (1957) Limited ( th, บริษัทอู่กรุงเทพ จำกัด) is a Thai shipbuilding company. It operates as a state enterprise under the oversight of the Ministry of Defence. It was founded in 1 ...

, the state enterprises under the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

also based in the district.

Sathon Road

Skyscrapers along the Sathon Tai Road Sathon Road marks the northern boundary of the district, with the southern lane of the road belonging to Sathon District and the northern lane across the Sathon Canal belonging to Bang Rak. Along Sathon Road there are many up-scale hotels, the famous "

Robot Building The Robot Building (, , ), located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok, Thailand, houses United Overseas Bank's Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking; its arch ...

", Saint Louis Hospital (and church, and school), the Apostolic Nunciature of The Holy See, and the Blue Elephant cooking school.

Places

Wat Yannawa (วัดยานนาวา), a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

dating back to the Ayutthaya period, is probably the best known temple in Sathon. It has a unique junk-shaped chedi and viharn built by

King Rama III 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 ...

. The idea behind the construction was that Chinese junk was quickly disappearing and the pagoda should show present descendants what it looked like. The temple was known as ''Wat Kok Khwai'' (วัดคอกควาย) during the Ayutthaya Kingdom and Wat Kok Krabue (วัดคอกกระบือ) during the

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 i ...

and early-

eras before the construction of the chedi. Wat Don (วัดดอน) was built in 1797 during the

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 ...

period by people who immigrated from

Tavoy Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. The name ''Wat Don'' is equally well known for the Wat Don Cemetery not far away. The graveyard contains the remains of people of Chinese heritage. In the past, it was rumored to be a haunted place. Next to the cemetery is Wat Prok (วัดปรก), a Mon-styled Buddhist temple. Hindu Dharma Sabha Association (สมาคมฮินดูธรรมสภา), also better known as Wat Vishnu (วัดวิษณุ) is one of Bangkok's oldest and most prominent

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

s apart from Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Bang Rak and

Devasathan Devasathan (; ; meaning 'the abode of the gods') or Royal Brahmin Office of Thai Royal Court ( th, สำนักพราหมณ์พระราชครูในสำนักพระราชวัง) is a Hindu temple near Wat Suthat ...

in Phra Nakhon. It is a temple in

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

established in 1920, considered as the only temple that enshrined the idol of all the major Hindu gods. Located in the same

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

of Wat Prok. Saint Louis Church, or locally known as Wat Saint Louis (วัดเซนต์หลุยส์) is the only

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

on the side of Sathon Road. It was named in honour of Saint Louis. San Chao Mae Brahma Met (ศาลเจ้าแม่พรหมเมศ) is a Chinese joss house of Teochew on Charoen Krung Road near Sathon Bridge and Wat Yannawa, originally it was located at the mouth of Khlong Sathon. But later, when Sathon Bridge was built, it moved into the present location. Next to the shrine is Soi Wanglee (ซอยหวั่งหลี), a traditional community in the part of commercial district from Chinese junk to the steamboat periods. This area was originally filled with docks, various rice mills and also the location of the Chinese port to transport goods and passengers to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shantou, Hainan etc. All of which are joint ventures of Chinese-Thai businessmen during King Chulalongkorn's reign, but later they had conflicts. In the end, they were sold to the

Wanglee family The Wanglee family ( th, หวั่งหลี, from zh, 黌利) is a Thai family of Teochew Chinese descent. The family traces its origins to Tan Tsue Huang (, 1841–1920), of the Tan clan (陳, '' Chen'' in Mandarin), who arrived in Siam du ...

. Currently, this community no longer exists, it turned out to be just a wasteland beside Wat Yannawa.

Economy

Nok Air Nok Air (, th, นกแอร์, derived from ''nok'' (นก), the Thai word for ''bird'') is a low-cost airline in Thailand operating mostly domestic services out of Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport. Thai Airways International o ...

has its head office in the Rajanakarn Building in Yan Nawa, Sathon.

Education

* Assumption College Primary Section * Garden International School Bangkok * Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep * Wat Suthiwararam School * Satri Si Suriyothai School * Saint Louis College (Bangkok)

Diplomatic missions

* Embassy of Austria * Embassy of Brazil * Embassy of Denmark * Embassy of Germany * Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See * Embassy of Luxembourg * Embassy of Malaysia * Embassy of Mexico * Embassy of Morocco * Embassy of Panama * Embassy of Singapore * Embassy of Slovakia * Embassy of United Kingdom

References

External links

BMA website with tourist landmarks of Sathon

{{Khet Bangkok Districts of Bangkok