Wat Suthat

Wat Suthat is one of the oldest and most impressive temples of Rattabanakosin era in Bangkok, located right in the middle of Bangkok. It is one of the first class Royal temples of the highest class in Thailand. The temple was constructed at the reign of King Rama I to be the central temple of Bangkok. The temple halls and other buildings were built to resemble the Buddhist cosmology to mark the place as the center of the universe.

The temple has the longest ordination hall in Thailand which is decorated with stunning wall paintings. The temple hall enshrined largest bronze Buddha image in the country. The temple is a popular tourist destination due to its exceptional Thai Buddhist art and architecture.

Unlike other temple, for Wat Suthat, the image hall is considered the center of the temple. The hall was built in Thai traditional​ architectural style. The complex buildings were the most completed concrete interpretation of the Mount meru according to Buddhist cosmology. The image hall was built to represent the Mount Meru, the center of the universe with 4 pavilions representing 4 continents, 7 Chinese pagodas representing 7 surrounded mountains, the walk way representing Sithandon ocean, and the gallery representing the border of the universe.

Wat Suthat is also known as the temple of the Giant Swing, a religious structure used for Hinduism ceremony. The Giant swing situated outside the gate of Wat Suthat is one of Bangkok’s iconic tourist attractions.