Nonthaburi is over 400 years old, dating back to
when Ayutthaya was the capital. The town was originally located at
Tambon Ban Talat Khwan, a famous fruit orchard where the Chao Phraya
River and various canals pass through.
King Prasat Thong ordered the digging of a canal as a shortcut from
the south of Wat Thai Muang to Wat Khema because the old waterway
flowed into Om River to Bang Yai then to Bang Kruai Canal next to Wat
Chalo before ending in front of Wat Khema.
After the new shortcut was completed, the Chao Phraya River changed
its flow into the new route that remains today. In 1665, King Narai the
Great noticed that the new route gave enemies too much proximity to the
capital. Therefore, he ordered that a fortress be built at the mouth of
Om River and relocated Nonthaburi to this area. A city shrine still
stands there.
Later during the reign of King Rama IV of the Rattanakosin period,
he ordered the town moved to the mouth of Bang Su Canal in Ban Talat
Khwan. King Rama V then had the provincial hall built there on the left
bank of the Chao Phraya River. In 1928, the hall was moved to
Ratchawitthayalai, Ban Bang Khwan, Tambon Bang Tanao Si. It is now the
Training Division of the Ministry of Interior on Pracha Rat 1 Road,
Amphoe Muang, on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. The building is of
European architecture decorated with patterned woodwork. The Fine Arts
Department has registered it as an historical site. The provincial hall
is now on Rattanathibet Road. |
