Place of worship
Wat Ratchanatdaram Worawihan
2 Maha Chai Rd, Khwaeng Wat Bowon Niwet, Khet Phra Nakhon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10200
Nineteenth-century Buddhist temple crowned by thirty-seven iron spires, the last surviving structure of its kind in the world.
This guide to Wat Ratchanatdaram in Bangkok follows King Rama III's attempt in 1846 to revive an ancient metal-castle architecture that had already vanished twice, in India and Sri Lanka. It traces the meaning behind the temple's thirty-seven iron spires, each standing for a quality on the path to enlightenment, and the long gap in construction after the king died before it was finished. Listen for how the project passed through generations before builders finally resumed work in 1960.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.