Central
Thailand / Lopburi
Photo: Town of Lopburi
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Lopburi is
an interesting town, 153km (96mi) north of Bangkok, which has
been important in various periods of history reaching back roughly
1000 years. It was first an important Khmer town
(the Khmers ruled over much what is today Thai territory for the
first two centuries of the millennium). When the Khmer influence
waned in what is today northern and central Thailand, Lopburi
became rather independent and ruled over a territory reaching
from the city to the shores of the Gulf of Thailand. The realm
was known as the Kingdom of Lavo, still a Khmer state.
It remained in existence until the end of the 13th century when
the Thais, who had already migrated in large numbers from the
north and had settled down in what is today Thai territory, fought
against the Khmers and declared their independence as the Kingdom
of Sukhothai. Since then Lopburi has been ruled by Thais.
Many monuments in Khmer style were constructed in Lopburi, during Khmer rule and even later, and much of them can still be seen today.
In 1664, King Narai, one of the most important kings in the history of Ayutthaya, made Lopburi the second capital of the realm and resided there for much of his lifetime. Many structures were built with the help of French architects. Therefore, the architectural style of Lopburi in the reign of King Narai was half Thai and half Western as is evident in structures like the Royal Palace or the Royal Reception House.
King Narai brought Western technology into use in the observatory and by laying terra-cotta pipes to supply water to the palace.
Apart from this, King Narai was the first Thai monarch to establish diplomatic relations with European powers, especially France, and introduced a friendly policy towards foreigners, especially Europeans (though this policy was abandoned by his successors).
Lopburi was not much destroyed by the Burmese army that completely burned down Ayutthaya in 1767. Therefore, it's probably a better place to see Siamese architecture of the Ayutthaya period than Ayutthaya itself.
More information on Lopburi:
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http://www.asiatour.com/thailand/e-04cent/et-cen14.htm
Jan Garanoz
869/116 Thanon Pemavipat,
Chiang Rai, 57000 Thailand
Created: September 1, 1995
Last updated: January 27, 2010