History
Wat Ratchabophit or formally known as Wat Ratchabophit Sathimahasimaram Ratchaworawihan is a Theravada Buddhist temple located in Bangkok, Thailand. The temple was built in 1869 during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), where it is a tradition that every monarch has to construct a temple at the beginning of their reign. As a matter of fact, the temple also served as a royal cemetery, where numerous royal family members’ ashes were kept inside the mausoleum and ordination hall. Moreover, the mausoleum also has a unique design of a mixed European and Thai styles on the exterior. The temple also features a Golden Chedi, which is a replica of the famous Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom. Lastly the abbot of Wat Ratchabophit is Somdet Phra Sangkharat Sakonlamahasangkhaparinayok, who is the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand or the head of all Buddhist monks in Thailand.
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Architectural
Wat Ratchabophit’ ordination hall (Ubosot), prayer hall (Wihran) and other architecture are mostly a combination of local and western styles, which shows an awakening of new ideas and a desire to experiment them. The Prayer hall (Wihran) is the most unique, where the exterior of the building is made with Thai-styles and the interior is made with European-styles, making the inside of the temple look similar to that of a Gothic cathedral. The front roof has a balcony covered with colored glazed tiles, decorated with a chorfa, rooster leaves, and swan tail. The doors and windows have arches at the top of the half-mandapa decorated with stucco and gilded designs. The inside has a pattern of pouring water and rice fields, and on the outside are 5 First Class Royal Decorations. These decorative patterns on the doors and windows are considered one of the most important pieces of art in the Rattanakosin period. Inside the temple is a European style mixed with Thai style. The ceiling has a pattern of golden moldings. The walls between the windows are in the form of Unalom. and have the letters J alternating above the arch in the middle of the door. The interior decoration of the temple and the upper floor walls between the pillars are images of the Buddha’s life.
The Ubosot has a similar shape as the Prayer hall (Wihran) from both inside and outside. The difference is that the doors and windows are carved with wood in the royal decoration pattern, while the temple has a porch decoration pattern.In addition, the patterns inside the temple are only found on the cornice ceiling separating the walls on the ground floor and the upper floor. and window frame only Other than that, the walls were gold with no pattern. inside the temple The inside window pane has a Phum Khao Bin pattern. The main Buddha image is a Buddha image in the subduing Maravichai posture. It’s called Phra Prathip Warothai.
The Royal Cemetery is located outside the Mahasima Dhammachak wall of the temple on the west side, next to Asadang Road and along the old moat canal. King Chulalongkorn graciously ordered the cemetery to be built as a place to house the ashes and remains of his queen, concubine, and his sons and daughters. There are various architectural styles including Thai-styles (pagodas and prangs), Khmer-styles (Lopburi prang art), and Gothic styles (gothic stained glass).
The Golden Chedi was built to house the Buddha relics, where the chedi itself is a replica of the Phra Pathom Chedi.
