Phra Narai Ratcha Niwet (King Narai's Palace)

Phra Narai Ratcha Niwet (King Narai's Palace)

The main entrance to King Narai's Palace (as it came to be called at the time of the major renovations by King Rama IV in the 19th c.) is on Surasak Road, but it can also be entered from the side on the river. This would have had the landing stage where most kings would have arrived in Lopburi, since they tended to travel here by river. However, the tour that follows starts at the main entrance.

The palace precinct is divided up by walls, with gateways, into several courtyards. The most interesting features are to be found in the inner courtyard. The whole compound is enclosed in majestic walls topped by battlements. Large parts of the old complex are 17th c. and were designed and built by King Narai. The more modern buildings added later owe their appearance to King Mongkut who had many buildings demolished and put new ones in their place, apart, that is, from the Chanthara Phisan Pavilion which was in a relatively good state of preservation and therefore worth restoring.

Starting the tour at the main entrance on Surasak Road, this gateway is where fate is supposed to have caught up with Konstanin Phaulkon, whose residence is another of the sights of Lopburi. Lured to the palace on the pretext of being summoned to the presence of the dying king, the Greek adviser was grabbed by henchmen of Luang Sorasak, the Minister of War who had seized power, and subsequently beheaded.

En route to the next courtyard, also entered through a monumental gateway, there are several structures that are of interest. The traces of buildings can still be discerned to the right and left of the path. However what they were used for has never been clear, not even from the old documents, although it is reported that on his deathbed the King asked for some precious garments to be brought to him from one of these twelve halls, so they may have been treasure chambers.

Behind them to the right are the old brick water tanks which are fed by springs on a hill in the eastern part of the town. Italian and French engineers were commissioned to build a hydraulic system to pump the water to the palace, and it is supposed to have taken ten years' hard work to get it running properly. Beyond the water tanks, in a pleasant park setting, is the Phra Khlang Supharat which was the reception hall for foreign visitors.

Just before the second gate, on the left, are parts of the outer wall of the royal elephant stables. The statues on the grass beyond the portal are in the Dvaravati style and include items brought here from places outside Lopburi as well. A few ruins are all that remain of a pool and the armories and magazines nearby.