Wat Suthat Thepwararam Ratchaworamahawiharn, or simply Wat Suthat, is one of the six important temples of Bangkok. It also holds the distinction of having the tallest viharn (ordination hall) of any temple in Bangkok. Wat Suthat is located on Thanon Dinso (Dinso Road) facing the Giant Swing and the Bangkok City Hall.
Construction of Wat Suthat began during the reign of King Rama I. It was decorated by his son, but was not completed until the reign of his grandson. It is built in the Bangkok temple architectural style, to be precise, the Rattanakosin style, a style named after the area where the present Grand Palace is located.
The Buddha image within Wat Suthat is a huge, 8-meter tall bronze in the Sukhothai style. It was moved from Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai by King Rama I. The viharn contains intricate murals depicting Buddhist cosmology, or Traiphum. Even the teak doors of the viharn is impressive. It is fiva-and-a-half meters tall, and carved in five layers. The cloister surrounding the viharn is lined with 156 golden Buddha statues. Within the courtyard are Chinese statues, similar to those at Wat Arun and several other Buddhist temples in Bangkok. These statues were brought from China and ballast for the rice boats.
There is entrance fee at this temple, also the viharn and ubosot are closed to the public, so I decided to view it only from the outside. -- Tim, Earthdocumentary
|
