Tha Phra Palace

The exhibitions on show here are created by art students, teachers and university artists from Silpakorn University, the country's first art school. The exhibitions change often, and the only way to find out what's on is by walking in. Sometimes the art centre is closed when the building is used for university meetings and summits.

This museum is dedicated to the "father of modern art" of Thailand, the Italian professor Corrado Feroci. He founded Silpakorn University, the best art and humanities school of Thailand. Many of his works are on display throughout the city, including the Democracy Monument and the statues of King Taksin, King Rama I and King Rama VI. This museum is in the building where he lived and made his designs.

You might stumble across a tree on a pedestal when walking from Phra Chan Market to Thammasat University. Why is this tree placed on a pedestal and decorated with garlands? Well, the tree has been linked with Thailand's struggle for democracy and the role Thammasat University has played here. The Bodhi Court is the birthplace of the 8 October 1973 student movement that grew into mass demonstrations for democracy and a new constitution. The students protested against the military junta and insisted on the release of 13 people that had been arrested for demanding a national charter. The number of protesters swelled to the hundreds of thousands and were relocated to the university's football field. On 13 October 1973 this large group of people started to move onto the streets. The following day, the government violently suppressed this mass demonstration, a key event in Thai modern history and the reason why the October 14 Memorial was erected near Khao San Road. On 4 October 1976, the Bodhi Court was the stage of an open-air stage performance that mocked the political culture of that time. When these parodies took hold of the newspapers' headlines on 6 October, the military junta violently attacked the student groups for being defamatory to the royal family. In 1991, a military coup d'état followed and a constitution was drafted that basically maintained the status quo. Students again gathered at the Bodhi Court to protest against the junta. After the 1992 general elections, the opposition to the junta gathered at the Bodhi Court, starting demonstrations that would evolve into more than 200,000 participants. The junta again cracked down in an event known as the Black May Massacre, but eventually all protesters were freed and the junta stepped down in favour of democracy. An important tree, indeed.

When Rattanakosin was established as Siam's capital, King Rama I designed this vast open field between the northern wall of the Grand Palace and the eastern wall of the former Wang Na Palace. At that time, the ground was a rice field sometimes used for royal crematoria. The ground was called "Thung Phra Men", which means crematorium ground in Thai. Considering that name was inauspicious, King Rama IV renamed the ground "Thong Sanam Luang", or the royal ground, and all rice farming there was ceased. Later, King Rama V had Wang Na's eastern wall demolished and enlarged Sanam Luang to its current size. The place has been used as the crematorium ground for kings, members of the royal family and nobility, in addition to being a royal sporting ground. 365 tamarind trees are placed around it. Sanam Luang is Bangkok's equivalent of a 'speaker's corner' where the people get together to talk politics. In recent history, the ground has been used for political rallies and demonstrations, such as the yellow and red shirt protests in the late 2000s. At December 5th, the birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, literally a million people come here to celebrate his birthday. Every night, a flea market is held on the streets surrounding it.

According to an old Thai tradition, a city pillar has to be built upon the establishment of a new city, to provide a home for guardian spirits. King Rama I had the Bangkok city pillar erected near Wat Phra Kaeo on April 21, 1782, an astrologically determined date for the auspicious founding of Bangkok. The city pillar includes the city's horoscope inside. Every town in Thailand has a similar city pillar shrine, so there are thousands of these all across the country. The original pillar was carved out of cassia wood, measuring 75 cm thick and 27 cm high. In the reign of King Rama IV, the old dilapidated pillar was replaced by a new one that measures 270 cm in height with a wide base of 175 cm. At that time it was placed in the prang-shaped shrine as seen today. Thonburi was merged into Bangkok in 1972, and its city pillar has been incorporated in the shrine. Hundreds of locals pray and place flowers here every day, as they believe the shrine has the power to bring good luck. Traditional dance ceremonies are often held, paid by wealthy families that saw their wishes granted.