Bangkok Museums a rich tapestry of Thai history and culture
There are presently about 184 Bangkok museums in the city and these can be grouped into Palace museums, special museums, Kings' museums and community museums.
We begin our tour of these Bangkok legacies with the Palace Museums. These were former royal residences carefully
restored to depict the life of that era.
Palace museums
Let's start with the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum the former royal residence of Prince Chumbhot and his wife
Mom Rajawongse Pantip. Besides the family heirlooms, this
museum displays the rare
Ban Chiang Collection from a civilization that is more
than 5,000 years old!
Another Bangkok museum, a former palace with an interesting history, is the Varadis Palace the former residence of Prince Damrong
who played a significant role in Thai history. Varadis Palace is now a museum
and library dedicated to his memory.
To help you get to Varadis Palace in Lan Luang Road, please see the map to Varadis Palace.
Special museums
These Bangkok museums cover special aspects of the history and culture of Thailand.
The Bank of Thailand Museum is one of those very special Bangkok museums. The museum is
in the Bang Khun Prom Palace within the premises of the
Central Bank of Thailand. The former residence of HRH Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand, son of King Chulalongkorn, this museum
depicts the history of Thai currency from the days of the ancient beads, seeds and bracelets till the present forms.
Kamthieng House a
traditional Lanna home in the grounds of the Siam Society in
Soi Asoke, preserves the old Lanna architecture and culture
from northern Thailand.
To get there, please see the map to Kamthieng House.
The Museum of Buddhist Art is reputed to have the biggest collection of Buddha statues, sculptures and figurines based on Buddhist art from old kingdoms dating back to the 6th century AD. To get there, please see map to the Museum of Buddhist Art.
Traditional Thai art takes a unique twist in the Erawan Museum which displays old Buddha statues in a highly unusual structure with the gigantic three-headed Erawan on the dome.
Erawan Museum
Some of these Buddha statues are as old as the ones in the Museum of Buddhist Art, though much lesser in number. To visit this museum, please see the Erawan Museum map.
Related to stamps, please see this article Old Stamps on impressions from the 20th Asian International Stamp Exhibition in Bangkok in August 2007.
For the latest Bangkok Museum that depicts 2,000 years of Thai history in an innovative style, visit the Museum Siam for a very different museum experience.
For an outdoor museum that is unrivalled anywhere else, visit Muang Boran or the Ancient City in Samut Prakan just outside Bangkok.
The displays of scaled models or life sized replicas of ancient ruins, monuments, buildings which provide an excellent insight into the ethnic and cultural heritage of Thailand.
Muang Boran the Ancient City
Another special museum is the Thailand Railway Hall of Fame which preserves the history of rail travel in Thailand since the late 1800s.
Thailand Railway Hall of Fame
For a very interesting provincial museum preserving the history, culture, art and craft of its communities, visit the Museum of Nonthaburi which is in an old province just north of Bangkok.
Museum of Nonthaburi
For the history of the Government Savings Bank of Thailand, please the Savings Bank Museum which has some nostalgic images of banking in the early days.
Savings Bank Museum
The latest addition to our list of special museums is the Museum of Floral Culture which displays exquisite Asian and Thai floral designs in an old colonial bungalow set in a lush tropical garden.
Museum of Floral Culture
Kings' Museums
The Kings' Museums make up another group of Bangkok
museums. These museums were not royal palaces before but
now house museums dedicated to former Chakri Kings.
The King Rama VI Museum within the Territorial Defence Department is a military museum dedicated to King Vajiravudh, a Sandhurst graduate, who had a keen interest in the military. To help visitors locate the museum, please see the map to King Rama VI Museum.
King Rama VI Museum
The King Rama VII Museum preserves the personal history and life of King Prajadhipok,
the last absolute monarch whose reign saw the watershed in
Thai political history. Please see the map to the King Rama VII Museum.
King Rama VII Museum
Community museums
The next category of Bangkok museums consists of the
community museums. These are museums recording the
history and life style of the local communities in the area.
The Bangkok Folk Museum in Bangrak was previously a family home carefully preserved
to reflect the lifestyle in Bangkok in the
early 20th century.
Bangkok Folk Museum
Colocated with the Folk Museum is the Bangrak Museum a community museum which preserves the history and quaint memories of old Bangrak district in the 1800s - early 1900s.
The Samphanthawong Museum in Yaowarat Chinatown
Bangkok is a pictorial history of the early Chinese immigrants,
their lives and contributions.
Samphanthawong Museum
The Bangkok Noi Museum a community museum on the Thonburi bank,traces the history of the old Bangkok community in the pre-Rattanakosin era, before Bangkok became the capital. The map to the Bangkok Noi Museum shows the way to this museum.
The Bang Khun Thien Museum another community museum on the Thonburi bank, traces the history of Bangkok's coastal community near the only seafront in Bangkok. The museum is quite out of the way, please see the map to the Bang Khun Thien Museum. to help you get there.
In July 2005, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority announced plans to establish 23 more community museums. Each of these Bangkok museums will preserve the history, culture and life-styles of the communities in the various Bangkok districts.
The Klong San Museum is one of the 23 community museums established in the second phase. This museum covers another old community on the west bank of the Chao Phraya just after you have crossed the Taksin Bridge.
Klong San Museum
The number of Bangkok museums gives an idea of the richness and
diversity of the Thai history and culture and the impact of these influences on
Thai society.
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