Bangkok City Pillar Shrine, Bangkok Province, Thailand. - Buddhist Temples and Public Shrines on Waymarking.com

Each Thai province has a 'City Pillar Shrine' in its capital city, representing the centre and the spirit of the city and province. In Thai the term is 'Lak Mueang'.

The Lak Mueang of Bangkok is of course the most impressive shrine in the country. From the street a large white building can be seen, with gold trim. Inside is an impressive array of national and Buddhist imagery. Visitors may enter the ground and the Shrine to pay their respects, and take photos.

The Bangkok shrine was erected by the first King of the Chakri dynasty (the current dynasty of Thailand), Rama 1, on April 21, 1782, when he made Bangkok the capital of the country. Since then the shrine has been expanded and refurbished several times. After this date other shrines in other important provinces of Thailand were constructed to indicate the power of the central government, however, it was not until 1992 that the national government ordered that every Thai province must construct a City Pillar Shrine.

Open: 7.00–18.00. Near the Grand Palace.

Open to visitors?: Yes Photography Permitted Inside?: Yes Statue of the Buddha present?: Yes Related Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
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Photos of the shrine are strongly encouraged when permitted otherwise please refrain from taking pictures inside and in any case, generally have respect for the religious nature of the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   06/23/2006 run26.2 visited it