Bang Phlat Intersection where Ratchawithi Road ends Ratchawithi Road, also spelled Rajvithi (, ) is a major road 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 estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It begins in Ratchathewi district at Sam Liam Din Daeng Junction, where it intersects with Din Daeng Road and Ratchaprarop Road, and runs northwest, past Victory Monument

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

, through

Dusit Dusit () is the Thai name for Tushita, the fourth heavenly realm in Buddhist cosmology. The name may refer to: * Dusit District, a district of Bangkok * Dusit Palace, namesake of the district *Dusit Subdistrict, Bangkok, in Dusit District * Dusit S ...

district, and ultimately crossing the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

Krung Thon Bridge Krung Thon Bridge (, , ) is a bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, in Thailand, connecting the districts Dusit and Bang Phlat. The bridge has 6 spans, and consists of a steel superstructure resting on concrete piers. History Constructi ...

and ending in Bang Phlat district at Bang Phlat Intersection, where it intersects with Sirindhorn Road and

Charan Sanitwong 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 (, ) is a main road in Bangkok's Thonburi side (west bank of Chao Phraya River), it is named in h ...

. Ratchawithi Road was formerly known as Sang Hi Road (). It was originally constructed during the reign of King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

, as one of three new roads constructed at the time

Dusit Palace Dusit Palace (, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). The palace, originally cal ...

was built, along with Lok Road (, now Rama V Road) and Duang Tawan Road (, now

Si Ayutthaya Road Si Ayutthaya Road (, , ) is a road in inner Bangkok. It starting from Ratchaprarop road at Makkasan intersection in the area of Ratchathewi district to eastward where cuts Phaya Thai road, then cuts Rama VI road Kamphaeng Phet 5 road and nor ...

). The name "Sang Hi" comes from Chinese (囍), and means " exceedingly happy". The original road stretched only from behind Dusit Palace to the edge of the Chao Phraya. It was later expanded to connect to Ratchaprarop Road, and then extended across the river to Charan Sanitwong Road when the Krung Thon Bridge began construction in 1954. Because it connected the two sections of the former Sang Hi Road on either side of the river, the Krung Thong Bridge has been called by locals Sang Hi Bridge (, ''Saphan Sang Hi'') since before it was officially christened. The intersection of Ratchawithi and

Samsen 350px, Samsen Road in the phase of Thewet Naruemit Bridge (view backward to Phra Nakhon side) Samsen or spelled Sam Sen (, ) is a road and neighbourhood in Bangkok considered to be one of Bangkok's oldest. Samsen road starts from Bang Lamphu int ...

roads, the final intersection before crossing the bridge on the east side of the river, is named Sang Hi Intersection. The name was changed to Ratchawithi Road on February 16, 1918 by King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

. The term is derived from the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, ' + ', and means "royal way" or "king's road". The stretch of the road from Victory Monument to Kamphaeng Phet 5 Road is lined with a large number of hospitals and health-related institutions. These include Rajavithi Hospital and Boromarajonani College of Nursing, the Institute of Dermatology,

Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health () is large public hospital located in Ratchathewi District, Bangkok, Thailand. It serves as a teaching hospital for the College of Medicine, Rangsit University. History With plans to expand th ...

(Children's Hospital), Hospital for Tropical Diseases,

Phramongkutklao Hospital Phramongkutklao Hospital () is a hospital located in Ratchathewi District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is a military hospital for the Royal Thai Army and a teaching hospital for Phramongkutklao College of Medicine which trains doctors for the Royal Thai ...

and College of Medicine, the Royal Thai Army Nursing College, Prasat Neurological Institute and the under-construction extension of

Ramathibodi Hospital Ramathibodi Hospital () is a university hospital of the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. and is a hospital capable of super tertiary care. It is a teaching hospital for all undergraduate students of the Faculty of Med ...

. At Ratchawithi Intersection, where it meets Rama V Road near

Chitralada Royal Villa Chitralada Royal Villa (; ) is a royal villa located within Dusit Palace. This villa was permanent-residence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), the longest-serving monarch of Thailand and Queen Sirikit. He moved there after the death of his old ...

and

Dusit Zoo Dusit Zoo () or popularly known as Khao Din Wana (เขาดินวนา) and Khao Din (เขาดิน) was a zoo in Bangkok, Thailand. Located at Khao Din Park in Bangkok's Dusit District next to the old parliament house and Dusit Palac ...

at about 6:30 am on Sunday October 14, 1973, there was a clash between a group of protesters demanding a constitution and police. It escalated into a bloody uprising recorded in history known as " Oct 14 event".

References

{{coord, 13, 46, 25, N, 100, 31, 08, E, region:TH_type:landmark_source:kolossus-jawiki, display=title Streets in Bangkok Transport in Bangkok Ratchathewi district