Saphan Hok (, ) is a bridge over the old city moat or

Khlong Khu Mueang Doem Rattanakosin Island (, , ) is a historic area in the Phra Nakhon District in the city of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the west and various canals to the east that were dug to serve as moats for what was originall ...

in Bangkok's Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang and Wang Burapha Phirom sub-districts, Phra Nakhon district. The bridge is located right in front of the entrance to Saranrom Park. Its name translates as "tipping bridge". It's a bridge that can be drawn up for boats passing through. Originally, it was a wooden bridge that was built from the same type bridge in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In the early Rattanakosin period, there were eight Saphan Hok in the area of Bangkok, in both the Phra Nakhon (Bangkok core side) and

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, 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 ref ...

sides. Today, only this one remains. In 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 ...

(Rama V), the bridge was changed a reinforced concrete bridge to allow

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

to run through. The bridge-foot has been modified to a ladder and this structure continues to this day. Saphan Hok was restored as a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

in 1982 on the 200th anniversary of the Rattanakosin era, and it was rebuilt using the photographic document of the period.

References

{{commonscat, Saphan Hok Phra Nakhon district Bridges in Bangkok category:Registered ancient monuments in Bangkok

See also

References