Ancient City (Mueang Boran)

The Ancient City is the door opening to the heritage of Thai wisdom. With a wide range of architectural symbols combined with fine arts and craftsmanship, structural layout and natural environment that integrate harmoniously, The Ancient City creates kind of atmosphere that induces visitors to perceive and appreciate the continuity of history, cultures, religions, arts and customs of Thai people from dawn until now. For more information please visit the Ancient City Website

Mueang Boran

Mueang Boran is a theme park in Samut Prakan district in the province of the same name. It is about 70 km south from Bangkok’s city center (see map). Mueang Boran, which literally translates into ‘Ancient City’, features delicately crafted replica’s of famous buildings of Thailand’s history.

To collect cultural and art work of Thailand to be a learning source, the Ancient City emphasizes on the distinguished and unique pieces of art from different periods, the representatives of folk cultural cultivation.

Some periods were overlapping in time as the rise of one community could take place anytime without the decline of the existing one.

Hence, it is found that each community developed its civilization within the similar time frame, but its peak was different depending on who was the strongest and most flourishing at a particular time. The most outstanding at the period could manifest its superior prosperity before others, yet as the leading kingdom began to recline, the rising one would replace the former at once with its own manifestation.

The periods accumulated here are arranged in order of their distinct revelation, ranging from pre-historic era, Dvaravati, Srivichai, Lopburi, Lanna, Lan Chang, Sukhothai, U-tong, Ayuthaya, Thonburi and Rattanakosin. Here some of example:

Dvaravati

The Dvaravati Kingdom has long been considered the center of Hinayana Buddhism. Since a large amount of the religious art works had been created in Dvaravati, they have been classified as artifacts of the Dvaravati school, the art school named after the period these works of art belong. The elaborate pieces of Dvaravati artworks were created in accordance with Buddhism beliefs. Ubosot (ordination hall), wihan (assembly hall), chedi (stupa) and Buddha images executed during the period are normally large.

The influence of Dvaravati art spread from Nakhon Pathom, the capital of the Dvaravati Kingdom, to its neighbouring regions in the center, the south, the north and the northeast. Muang Boran has reconstructed the Dvaravati wihan to represent the image of the Dvaravati Kingdom, whose influence had flourished in the northeastern region for more than a thousand years.

Lanna

The wihan or the assembly hall was an important ancient structure originally situated at Sa-Moeng in Chiang Mai Province. It portrays the traditional style of the northern religious mon u ments. The rather simplistic architecture accords with the surrounding environment unlike many tem po rary wihans and ubosots in some temples today. There is no presiding Buddha image housed in the wihan. Instead, the small prasat, made of brick and plaster decorated with stucco motifs, houses either an image or relic of the Buddha.

It is considered the most sacred monument in the community. The open-sided architecture as found in Sa-Moeng has illustrated the unique architectural style of the ancient Lanna Kingdom in Northern Thailand.

Sukhothai

The Lotus-Bud Tower stands on Chang Hill in Tak Province. The renowned and ancient mon u ment dates back to the Sukhothai period. It is a very distinctive type of chedi found only in the towns that made up the inner provinces of the Sukhothai Kingdom such as Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phetchabun and Phitsanulok. The stupa is commonly called the Lotus-Bud Tower due to the distinctive shape of the top; its proper name is phum khao bin. When the chedi was first discovered, it was understood that the lotus-bud tower was the only stupa existing on the hill and was a monument built to commemorate a special event that took place in Sukhothai.

His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rachanuphab, then, presumed the chedi to be the monument of Pho Khun Ram Kamhaeng, the King of Sukhothai Kingdom. It is es tab lished when he defeated Khun Sam Chon, a ruler of Chod, who attacked Tak during the reign of Pho Khun Si Indratit, Ram Kamhaengs father, in the historical battle made on elephants back. The tower, con se quent ly, is known as Chedi Yuthahatti which means the monument of the historical battle. Muang Boran reconstructed the building by making the stupa smaller than the original by three-fourths.

Ayuthaya

Ayutthaya Kingdom, in its prosperous era, had spread power throughout the region and neighboring areas; the dependent states of the Ayutthaya, then, were re spon si ble for sending tributes to the king of Ayutthaya. Some times, sacred Buddha images and priceless treasures were brought back to the kingdom. Ayutthaya at that time was an im por tant center of Buddhism where many sacred Buddhist monuments were housed.

Phra Kaew Pavilion is an octagonally-shaped structure constructed by Muang Boran. The style of the build ing taken from the carvings of an octagonally-shaped pavilion found on a wooden door panel of a scripture cabinet of the Ayutthaya period, now is exhibit in the National Museum, Bangkok. The extraordinary style of the pavilion resembles high structure drawn in some chronicles written by foreigners who came to Ayutthaya at that time. The interior of the building is elaborately embellished and painted with murals depicting the story of the Life of the Buddha, Jataka and the Three Worlds. Muang Boran built this pavilion to represent Ayutthaya as a center of Buddhism in the past.

Rattanakosin

In the early Rattanakosin era, the Dusit Maha Prasat Palace was an audience hall, where affairs of the state were conducted and royal ceremonies performed. The palace was built by King Rama I in 1806 A.D. The structure is a cruciform building with large high roofs. In the beginning, the palace was intended to be as large as the Suriyat Amarin Palace of Ayutthaya.

The Dusit Maha Prasat Palace in the Grand Palace is now the only remaining example of the traditional Thai palace. Unfortunately, renovated in the reign of King Rama III, the building left no trace of the original workmanship initiated in the first reign. The Grand Palace at Muang Boran, however, is not intended to model after the same palace as it stands today. By pains taking research and study of old photos and contemporary documents, Muang Boran has succeeded in recreating the original appearance of the palace.