Wat Phraya Krai (, ) is one of three ''

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 ...

'' (sub-district) of Bang Kho Laem district,

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 ...

. It has a total area of 2.300 km² (round about 0.888 mi²) west side along

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 ...

and in late 2017, it had a total population of 26,681 people.

History

Its name means ''"Phraya Krai Temple"'', which comes from the namesake

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

that used to be located here in the past. It is assumed that the temple was built before 1801. Later, Phraya Shoduek Ratchasetthi (magnate Boonma), who was the former governor for King

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

(Rama III), restored the temple as a royal monastery, renaming the temple to "Wat Chotanaram", and also enshrined the famous Golden Buddha image at this temple (currently enshrined at Wat Traimit in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

). Later 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 temple had no patrons to maintain the temple and was abandoned. The chapel, including other buildings, went into ruins, eventually turning into free land for the

East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded by Hans Niels Andersen in 1887. It owned 5 subsid ...

to rent for the location as its head office in Bangkok (currently Asiatique The Riverfront). But the name Wat Phraya Krai still appears to this day as the name of the sub-district and locations within that sub-district, such as Watprayakrai Police Station and Wat Phraya Krai Post Office etc.

Places of interest

* Asiatique The Riverfront * Shrewsbury International School *Masjid Al Bayaan *Masjid Bang Uthit *Masjid Darul Abideen *Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok * Protestant Cemetery *Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Bangkok *Wat Ratcha Singkhorn *Wat Worachanyawas

Main roads

Charoen Krung Road Shophouses along Charoen Krung road with the Sathorn Unique Tower in the vicinity (2021) Charoen Krung Road (, ) is a major road in Bangkok and the first in Thailand to be built using modern construction methods. Built during 1862–1864 in the ...

Chan Road Chan Road (, , ; ), also known as Trok Chan (, ; ), is a road and neighbourhood in Bangkok. It's a separate from Nang Linchi road in the area of Thung Maha Mek sub-district, Sathon district and runs through Chan - Naradhiwas intersection where i ...

References

{{coord, 13, 42, 15.81, N, 100, 30, 23.33, E, type:adm3rd_region:TH-10, display=title Subdistricts of Bangkok Bang Kho Laem district