Wachiraphayaban () is a ''

khwaeng A ''khwaeng'' (, ) is an administrative subdivision used in the fifty districts of Bangkok and a few other city municipalities in Thailand. Currently, there are 180 ''khwaeng'' in Bangkok. A ''khwaeng'' is roughly equivalent to a ''tambon'' in ot ...

'' (subdistrict) of Dusit District, 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 ...

History & naming

Most areas of Wachiraphayaban are in

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 ...

quarter, Samsen is an area with a long history before the establishment of Rattanakosin in 1782, since the

Ayutthaya period The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

in the reign of King

Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

this was where the Immaculate Conception Church was located, and the Portuguese community. Until the early Rattanakosin period, the Christian Khmers escape their country to settle here with the royal permission of the King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

. Later in the reign of King

Rama III Nangklao (born Thap; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), also known by his regnal name Rama III, was the third king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. Nangklao was the eldest surviving son of King Rama II. ...

, there were also a group of Christian

Annamese The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and southern China who speak Vietnamese, the most widely spoken Austroasi ...

settlers here as well, and they built another church, St. Francis Xavier Church. Thus making Samsen a settlement of both people races, hence the named "Ban Khmer" (บ้านเขมร) and "Ban Yuan" (บ้านญวน—''Yuan'' is old Thai language colloquialism used for Annamese). Before 1939, then named Ban Yuan Samsen. () left, Krung Thon Bridge, commonly known by unofficially name ''Sang Hi Bridge'', one of the bridges that cross Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. It connects Wachiraphayaban with two subdistricts of Bang Phlat in Thonburi side, Bang Yi Khan and Bang Phlat The eponymous Vajira Hospital, the old government hospital since the reign of King Rama VI on Sam Sen, Samsen Road.

Geography

Wachiraphayaban can be considered as the western area of the district. It has a total area of 1.074 km² (0.415 mi²). The area is bordered by neighbouring subdistricts (from the north clockwise): Thanon Nakhon Chai Si in its district (Khlong Samsen is a borderline),

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 ...

in its district (Samsen Road is a borderline), Wat Sam Phraya of Phra Nakhon District (

Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (, ) is a canal (''khlong'') in Bangkok. It was dug in 1851 in order to serve as a new outer moat for the expanding city, extending its boundaries from the Rattanakosin Island to the north and east. History When the cit ...

is a borderline), (across the river) Bang Yi Khan and Bang Phlat of Bang Phlat District (midstream of

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 ...

is a borderline).

Demography

In 2017 it had a total population of 11,267 people.

References

Subdistricts of Bangkok Dusit district {{Bangkok-geo-stub