King Narai's Palace
Encyclopedia
Lopburi
Lopburi ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is located about 150 km north-east of Bangkok. As of 2006 it has a population of 26,500...
was built by King Narai
Narai
Somdet Phra Narai or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the...
the Great, the king who ruled Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
from 1656 to 1688. He ordered to build the palace in 1666 in the same area of King Ramesuan
Ramesuan
King Ramesuan , son of king Ramathibodi I, reigned as the second and fifth king of the kingdom of Ayutthaya. When King Ramathibodi ascended to the throne of Ayuthaya, he sent King Ramesuan to reign in Lopburi...
's Palace. King Narai stayed here for about 8-9 months a year, except rainy season. He set Lopburi as the 2nd Capital of Ayutthaya Kingdom
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
thus the palace was the a place for relazation, hunting, administering the country's affairs, and welcoming official visitors. When he died in 1688, Lopburi and the palace were abandoned.
Until King Mongkut
Mongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
(Rama IV) of Rattanakosin ordered the restoration of King Narai's Palace. He built a new throne hall complex (Phiman Monkut Pavilion) for his stay in 1856. And named the palace Phra Narai Rajanivet. In the King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
(Rama V) reign, Phiman Mongkut Pavilion, which had been King Mongkut's accommodations, was given to the government to use as the Lopburi City Hall. On October 11th 1924, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab
Damrong Rajanubhab
Ditsawarakuman Damrong Rajanubhab was the founder of the modern Thai education system as well as the modern provincial administration...
and Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs
Narisara Nuvadtivongs
His Royal Highness Prince Chitcharoen, the Prince Narisara Nuvativongse was the son of Mongkut, King Rama IV of Siam and Princess Consort Pannarai. He was the member of the Siamese Royal Family . He created The House of Chitrabhongse , which is the descent family from the Chakri Dynasty...
opened the Chantarapisarn Pavilion in King Narai's palace as a museum, calling it the Lopburi Museum. Later, in 1961 the name of the museum was changed to Somdet Phra Narai National Museum. To present, the museum has exhibited more than 1,864 items of the collection of ancient artifacts in different pavilions and buildings of the palace.