Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit วิหารพระมงคลบพิตร , Ayutthaya, Thailand

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit (GPS: 14.35482, 100.55772; วิหารพระมงคลบพิตร , also written Viharn Phra Mongkhol Bophit) is a major Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Located next to the Royal Palace Ground of Ayutthaya, it is believed to have been builted during the reign of King Chairachathirat, around 1538. The huge Buddha statue, Phra Mongkhon Bophit, was previously sitting outdoors at Wat Chichiang, but was moved indoors here by King Song Tham. However, the roof collapsed after it was struck by lightning, during the reign of King Sua.

When the Burmese destroyed Ayutthaya, both the viharn and the Phra Mongkhon Bophit were seriously damaged by fire. The huge Buddha statue was left exposed to the elements for close to two centuries until the reign of King Rama VI, in 1920, when a restoration work was carried out. A large number of Buddha images was found here, and were taken to the nearby Chao Sam Phraya National Museum for safekeeping.

In 1957, the Fine Arts Department undertook a major restoration work, and a new viharn was built, according to the design of the original, to house the Buddha statue. In 1990, the provincial administration of Ayutthaya obtained permission from the Fine Arts Department to cover the statue with gold leave, to commemorate the 60th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


Phra Mongkhon Bophit, the giant Buddha statue in the wihan that bears its name (30 December, 2002)


Phra Mongkhon Bophit, the giant Buddha statue in the wihan that bears its name (30 December, 2002)


Side view of Phra Mongkhon Bophit. (30 December, 2002)


Various Buddha heads at Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit on Google Street View

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit (Feb 2015)

Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit is on the map of Ayutthaya

List of Wats in Ayutthaya and Wats in Thailand

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap