King Narai's Palace

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Dusit Sawan hall

The King Narai's Palace (Thai: พระนารายณ์ราชนิเวศน์) in Lopburi was built by King Narai the Great, the king who ruled Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688. He ordered to build the palace in 1666 in the same area of King Ramesuan's Palace. King Narai stayed here for about 8-9 months a year, except rainy season. He set Lopburi as the 2nd Capital of Ayutthaya Kingdom thus the palace was the a place for relazation, hunting, administering the country's affairs, and welcoming official visitors. When he died in 1688, Lopburi and the palace were abandoned.

Until King Mongkut (Rama IV) of Rattanakosin ordered the restoration of King Narai's Palace. He built a new throne hall complex (Phiman Monkut Pavilion) for his stay in 1856. And named the palace Phra Narai Rajanivet. In the King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) reign, Phiman Mongkut Pavilion, which had been King Mongkut's accommodations, was given to the government to use as the Lopburi City Hall. On October 11th 1924, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs opened the Chantarapisarn Pavilion in King Narai's palace as a museum, calling it the Lopburi Museum. Later, in 1961 the name of the museum was changed to Somdet Phra Narai National Museum. To present, the museum has exhibited more than 1,864 items of the collection of ancient artifacts in different pavilions and buildings of the palace.

[edit] Gallery

Palace Inner Gate1	Chantara Phisan Hall	Phra Nak Prok, beside Chantara Phisan Hall	Phiman Mongkut Pavillion
Phiman Mongkut Pavillion, view from Chantara Phisan Hall	Palace Inner Gate2	Suthasawan Hall	Dusit Sawan Thanya Mahaprasat Hall
Inside Dusit Sawan Thanya Mahaprasat Hall	The Palace view, from Dusit Sawan Hall	Twelve Royal Storage	Reception Hall, for Foreign Visitors
Water Tank	Museum Office