HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA

Wat Racha Burana - also called the Monastery of the Royal Repairs or the Monastery of the Royal Restoration - is located on the city island in the central area of Ayutthaya in Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The temple is situated on the corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road, opposite Wat Maha That and near the former Pa Than bridge.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet is situated on the city island in the Ayutthaya Historical Park in the Pratu Chai Sub-district. It has been registered as a national historic site by the Fine Arts Department since 5 March 1935 CE. This monastery was the most important temple of Ayutthaya and was situated within the Grand Palace grounds. It served as a model for the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.

Wat Phra Ram is a restored temple ruin located in the Ayutthaya Historical Park in Pratu Chai Sub-district situated close to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet in a swampy area called Bueng Phra Ram. The monastery was constructed on the cremation site of the first Ayutthaya monarch, King Ramathibodi I (reign 1351-1369 CE).

Wat Maha That, or the Monastery of the Great Relic, is located on the city island in the central part of Ayutthaya in the Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The temple is situated on the corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road.

Wat Phukhao Thong, or the Monastery of the Golden Mount, is located off the city island in Thung Phukhao Thong, nearly three kilometres northwest of the centre of the city of Ayutthaya in the Phukhao Thong Sub-district. Thung Phukhao Thong is bordered on the west by the present Chao Phraya River, which occupied the bed of the Bang Kaeo River in the mid-19th century.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, or the Great Monastery of Auspicious Victory, is located off the city island in the southeast of Ayutthaya in the Phai Ling Sub-district. In the past, it bears other names such as Wat Pa Kaeo, Wat Chao Phraya Thai and Wat Yai Chaiya Mongkhon. Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is situated in or just outside an ancient city known as Ayothya.

Wat Phutthaisawan, or the Monastery of Buddhist Kingship, is located in the southern area of Ayutthaya in the Samphao Lom Sub-district, on the south bank of the Chao Phraya River and east of Khlong Thakian. It is opposite the mouth of Khlong Chakrai Yai. The temple complex faces east towards the Khu Cham and is bordered on the north by the Chao Phraya River.

Wat Chai Watthanaram, or the Monastery of the Temple for the Advancement of Victory, as Richard Cushman translate it, is a restored ruin situated off the city island in the western area of Ayutthaya in the Ban Pom Sub-district. The large monastery is located on the west bank of the present Chao Phraya River in front of the Siriyalai Palace, which is directly across the river.