Bangkok City Pillar Shrine

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Bangkok City Pillar Shrine

Shrine

The shrine of Bangkok's founding pillar, raised by King Rama I in 1782 opposite the Grand Palace and home of the city's guardian spirit.

Bangkok City Pillar Shrine Chatuchak& Ari Chinatown Dusit Khao San Road Old Town Pratunam Ratchada Riverside Siam Silom &Sathorn Sukhumvit Thonburi Tourist areas, not official boundaries. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributorsWat ArunGrand PalaceJim Thompson HouseWat BenchamabophitLumphini ParkChatuchak Weekend MarketDemocracy MonumentWat TraimitAssumption CathedralVictory MonumentBangkok City Pillar Shrine

Bangkok City Pillar Shrine essentials

Country: Thailand
Driest months: Dec-Feb
Pay in: Baht (฿)
Language: Thai
Emergency: 191

The City Pillar Shrine, San Lak Mueang, marks the spiritual foundation of Bangkok. When King Rama I moved the capital across the river from Thonburi, the first thing he did was raise a city pillar here, at a moment fixed by the court astrologers: early on the morning of 21 April 1782. Every Thai city has its lak mueang, believed to house the city’s guardian spirit, and Bangkok’s is the most revered of them all.

The shrine stands across the road from the walls of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, at the southeast corner of Sanam Luang. It is small and busy rather than grand. Thais come to ask for luck in work and life, bringing incense, candles, gold leaf, lotus buds, garlands and lengths of coloured cloth. A visit takes 15 minutes, costs nothing and fits neatly between the palace and Wat Pho.

Things to Do
When to Go

Weather & Climate near Bangkok City Pillar Shrine#

Climate

Bangkok City Pillar Shrine's climate is classified as Tropical Savanna - Tropical Savanna climate with consistently warm temperatures year-round. Temperatures range from 21°C to 35°C. Abundant rainfall (1319 mm/year), wettest in September with a pronounced dry season.

Air Quality: AQI 83 Moderate
Best Time to Visit
JanuaryDecemberFebruary
Temperature & Rainfall
Temperature Range
43°
Warmest Month
10°
Coldest Month
Monthly Conditions
Month Comfort Temp Feels Rain Sky Humidity Wind UV Daylight
January Ideal 21° - 32° 27° 9 mm mostly sunny 64% 1.5 m/s 1.8 very high 11.3h
February Excellent 23° - 33° 30° 14 mm mostly sunny 60% 1.8 m/s 2.0 extreme 11.6h
March Excellent 25° - 34° 32° 32 mm some cloud 62% 1.7 m/s 2.2 extreme 11.9h
April Very Good 26° - 35° 35° 61 mm partly cloudy 66% 1.5 m/s 2.4 extreme 12.3h
May Acceptable 26° - 34° 36° 171 mm overcast 76% 1.6 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.6h
June Acceptable 26° - 33° 36° 130 mm overcast 80% 1.7 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.8h
July Acceptable 25° - 33° 35° 144 mm overcast 81% 1.7 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.7h
August Acceptable 25° - 33° 35° 179 mm overcast 82% 1.8 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.4h
September Acceptable 25° - 32° 34° 289 mm overcast 85% 1.4 m/s 2.1 extreme 12.1h
October Acceptable 24° - 32° 33° 238 mm overcast 85% 1.1 m/s 1.9 very high 11.7h
November Very Good 23° - 32° 31° 46 mm partly cloudy 80% 1.5 m/s 1.8 very high 11.4h
December Ideal 21° - 32° 26° 6 mm some cloud 71% 1.8 m/s 1.8 very high 11.2h
Getting There & Around

How to Get to Bangkok City Pillar Shrine#

Tha Chang pier on the Chao Phraya Express Boat is about 10 minutes’ walk west along the palace walls, and Sanam Chai station on the MRT Blue Line is about 15 minutes to the south.

History & Culture of Bangkok City Pillar Shrine#

Rama I’s original pillar was cut from chaiyaphruek wood, the “tree of victory”, with a horoscope for the city sealed inside. By the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV) the shrine had decayed, and he had a new, taller pillar made with a fresh horoscope. Old and new pillars were moved into a rebuilt pavilion with a prang-shaped spire in the Ayutthaya manner, finished in 1853. A renovation for Bangkok’s bicentennial in 1982 added a hall for five guardian deities of the city.

A grim legend says four passers-by were seized and buried beneath the pillar so their spirits would guard the city. It is folklore only, with no support in the royal chronicles.