Kanchanaburi
Encyclopedia
Kanchanaburi is a town (thesaban mueang) in the west of Thailand
and the capital of Kanchanaburi
province
. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327. The town covers the complete tambon
Ban Nuea and Ban Tai and parts of Pak Phraek and Tha Makham, all of Mueang Kanchanaburi district
, and parts of the tambon Tha Lo of Tha Muang district
.
rivers converge into the Mae Klong
river, spans the northern banks of the river and is a popular spot for travelers, its location at the edge of a mountain range keeping it much cooler than the other provinces of central Thailand. The city has two major commercial districts: the downtown area consists of a grid of several streets with office buildings, shop fronts, and a shopping mall; and the riverfront area businesses are mostly located further west along River Kwai Road. Once a year a carnival comes to town and is set up in the area next to the bridge. At night there is a small pyrotechnics display that re-enacts the wartime bombing of the bridge.
monk Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
.
It is 5 km SE of the Buddhist temple Wat Tham Phu Wa which features a series of grotto shrines within a large limestone cave system. Each grotto features a statue of The Buddha at a different stage of his life. It is the easiest access point to the nearby Tiger Temple
and is also home to a Vipassana
meditation center.
control. It was here that Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge; an event immortalised in the film Bridge on the River Kwai
. Almost half of the prisoners working on the project died from disease, maltreatment and accidents.
At Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead. In March 2003, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum
opened and the JEATH War Museum
dedicated to the bridge and the Death Railway
. The city is also home to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
.
Near Kanchanaburi, about 3 km from Wat Tham Phu Wa is the Chong Kai allies cemetery.
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and the capital of Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi Province
- History :Archaeology found in Kanchanaburi dates back to the 4th century which proves of trade with surrounding countries even in that time. Very little is also historically known about the actual Khmer influence in Kanchanaburi but there is evidence of their occupation with Prasat Muang Singh –...
province
Provinces of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces , which are geographically grouped into 6 regions. The capital Bangkok is not a province but a special administrative area and is included as the 77th province since it is administered at the same level as the other 76 provinces. The name of the provinces are...
. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327. The town covers the complete tambon
Tambon
Tambon is a local government unit in Thailand. Below district and province , they form the third administrative subdivision level. As of the 2009 there are 7255 tambon, not including the 169 khwaeng of Bangkok, which are set at the same administrative level, thus every district contains 8-10 tambon...
Ban Nuea and Ban Tai and parts of Pak Phraek and Tha Makham, all of Mueang Kanchanaburi district
Amphoe Mueang Kanchanaburi
Mueang Kanchanaburi is the capital district of Kanchanaburi Province, central Thailand.-History:Mueang Kanchanaburi was changed status to be the capital district of Kanchanaburi province in 1913....
, and parts of the tambon Tha Lo of Tha Muang district
Amphoe Tha Muang
Tha Muang is a district in the southern part of Kanchanaburi Province, central Thailand.-History:The district was established in 1898, the named Tai . Mr. Chom was the first head of district. Later people in the district moved southward to nearby Wat Si Loha Rat Bamrung then they changed the...
.
Location
Kanchanaburi, which is located where the Khwae Noi and Khwae YaiKhwae Yai River
The Khwae Yai River , also known as the Si Sawat , is a river in western Thailand. It flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek subdistrict.The famous...
rivers converge into the Mae Klong
Mae Klong
The Mae Klong is a river in western Thailand. The river begins at the confluence of the Khwae Noi or Khwae Sai Yok and the Khwae Yai River or Khwae Si Sawat in Kanchanaburi, pass Ratchaburi Province and empties into the Gulf of Thailand in Samut Songkhram....
river, spans the northern banks of the river and is a popular spot for travelers, its location at the edge of a mountain range keeping it much cooler than the other provinces of central Thailand. The city has two major commercial districts: the downtown area consists of a grid of several streets with office buildings, shop fronts, and a shopping mall; and the riverfront area businesses are mostly located further west along River Kwai Road. Once a year a carnival comes to town and is set up in the area next to the bridge. At night there is a small pyrotechnics display that re-enacts the wartime bombing of the bridge.
Buddhism
Kanchanaburi is the birthplace of the BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monk Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
Phrabhavanaviriyakhun is a Thai Buddhist monk. Born in 1941 in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, he followed secular education to post-graduate level....
.
It is 5 km SE of the Buddhist temple Wat Tham Phu Wa which features a series of grotto shrines within a large limestone cave system. Each grotto features a statue of The Buddha at a different stage of his life. It is the easiest access point to the nearby Tiger Temple
Tiger Temple
Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is a Theravada Buddhist temple in western Thailand that was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for wild animals, among them several tigers.-Location:...
and is also home to a Vipassana
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
meditation center.
Death railway
In 1942 Kanchanaburi was under JapaneseImperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
control. It was here that Asian forced labourers and Allied POWs, building the infamous Burma Railway, constructed a bridge; an event immortalised in the film Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
. Almost half of the prisoners working on the project died from disease, maltreatment and accidents.
At Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead. In March 2003, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum
Thailand-Burma Railway Museum
The Thailand–Burma Railway Museum is a railway museum in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. It is an interactive museum. It was privately funded and is run by Rod Beattie, an Australian who is an expert in the history of the Thailand–Burma Railway.-External links:*...
opened and the JEATH War Museum
JEATH War Museum
The JEATH War Museum is one of two war museums in Thailand about the Death Railway built from 1942 to 1943 by Allied POWs under the direction of the Japanese. The museum was founded in 1977 by the chief abbot of Wat Chaichumpol Venerable Phra Theppanyasuthee. It is located on the grounds of a...
dedicated to the bridge and the Death Railway
Death Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Thailand–Burma Railway and similar names, was a railway between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma , built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.Forced labour was used in its construction...
. The city is also home to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is the main Prisoner of War cemetery associated with victims of the Burma Railway. It is located in the town of Kanchanaburi, Thailand, and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are 6,982 former POWs buried there, mostly Australian, British...
.
Near Kanchanaburi, about 3 km from Wat Tham Phu Wa is the Chong Kai allies cemetery.
See also
- Amphoe Mueang KanchanaburiAmphoe Mueang KanchanaburiMueang Kanchanaburi is the capital district of Kanchanaburi Province, central Thailand.-History:Mueang Kanchanaburi was changed status to be the capital district of Kanchanaburi province in 1913....
- Kanchanaburi ProvinceKanchanaburi Province- History :Archaeology found in Kanchanaburi dates back to the 4th century which proves of trade with surrounding countries even in that time. Very little is also historically known about the actual Khmer influence in Kanchanaburi but there is evidence of their occupation with Prasat Muang Singh –...
- Kanchanaburi Rajabhat UniversityKanchanaburi Rajabhat UniversityKanchanaburi Rajabhat University or KRU is a Thai public university under the Rajabhat system. The campus is located just outside of Kanchanaburi, a small city west of Bangkok.-History:...
- Visuttharangsi SchoolVisuttharangsi SchoolVisuttharangsi School is a public school belong to Kanchanaburi Education Service Area Office 1, Office of The Basic Education Commission , Ministry of Education. The school provides preparatory school for college and university from grades 7 through 12...
, the provincial secondary school of Kanchanaburi.