Wat Niwet Thammaprawat: the one-of-a-kind Gothic temple

taking the gondola across the river

Bang Pa-In is a district between Bangkok and Ayutthaya. It's a well-known stop along the Chaophraya River, and the location of the royal Summer Palace. Unfortunately, the palace is closed for renovations, but that's ok! It wasn't the reason for us to stop in Bang Pa-In! We were here to see a very special temple; a temple that's unique not only in Thailand, but in the world!

crossing the river

First, we had to cross the river. To do this, we took a very old-fashioned wooden cable car that creaked and swayed as it swung over the slow-moving waters of the muddy Chaophraya.

the square in the temple compound

Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is a royal temple located on the grounds of the Summer Palace. It was the private temple of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). King Rama V was the first Siamese monarch to travel to and study in Europe, and he returned to Bangkok with big ideas of how to modernize the country. He is famous for abolishing slavery, creating the Thai rail network (and ordering the construction of Hua Lampong and Hua Hin Stations), building the Grand Palace, and introducing many political reforms for Thailand.

Just as the Grand Palace is built in a fusion-Victorian style, so are most of the great works created by His Majesty. A few months ago, I visited Koh Sichang Island, home of his former weekend resort, and wrote about a small Buddhist shrine that was built in a distinctly Western style. Like that shrine, Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is built in a Western style... in the style of a church, to be exact.

Wat Niwet Thammaprawat

It's the only Buddhist temple of its kind in all of Thailand, and possibly in all of the world. How many Buddhist temples could there be which are built in a neo-Gothic architectural style?

the temple that looks like a church

The temple looks for all the world like a small Anglican or Catholic church, no surprise, given the great king's love of all things European! There's even stained glass, something of a rarity in Buddhist architecture.

inside the temple

Inside, in place of a podium or crucifix stands a Buddhist altar with holy relics and images of the Buddha. Colorful stained glass windows filter bright light into the temple, and Italian marble tiles keep the room cool.

stained glass windows

Wat Niwet Thammaprawat is a royal temple of the first grade, one of only sixteen of its kind in all of Thailand!

the main altar

The stained glass was mostly just colorful squares, but one window above the door depicted the king in his traditional regalia.

stained glass windows depicting the king

Even the grounds were designed in a Gothic style, looking much like an old English churchyard.

a Buddhist shrine

After spending time exploring the temple, it was back in the van and back to the city. It was early evening when we arrived back in Bangkok, tired after a fun day of adventure.

the church-like exterior of the unique temple

I was kind of nervous about going on this little trip without knowing anybody else, but in the end, I'm really glad that I did. I met a lot of great people, and I feel a little more connected to the Bangkok expat community now. I also got to see lots of new places that would have been nearly impossible for me to visit on my own without a car. I think I'll look up more events from this meet up group in the future!

crossing back to the other side of the river

As a matter of fact, I've signed up for another walking tour with Noi next weekend!