Ratchapakdi Park, the park of the seven kings in Hua Hin
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Seven gigantic statues 13,9 meters high and six meters wide adorn it Ratchapakdi Park in Hua Hin. This “theme park” is in honor of all the great kings of Thailand and covers the Sukhothai period up to the current royal house of Chakri.
It is an important tourist attraction, mainly for Thai people, but the statues also have a function. It is a history lesson about the importance of the Thai monarchy. The park is located on an army compound of 222 rai about 10 kilometers south of the Klai Kangwon Palace and cost 700 million baht.
An area of 91 rai is designated for important ceremonies and contains a museum and exhibition center under the statues of the kings.
You can admire the statues of the following kings (thanks to Tino):
- Ramkhamhaeng, Sukhothai, reigned 1279-1298
- Naresuan, Ayutthaya, 1590-1605
- Narai, Ayutthaya, 1656-1688
- Taksin, Thonburi, 1768-1782
Then the Chakri Dynasti, Bangkok:
- Buddha Yodfa Chulalok, better known as Rama I, 1782-1809
- Mongkut, Rama IV, 1851-1868
- Chulalongkorn, Rama V, 1868-1910
Information
Ratchapakdi Park can be found at the Phetchasem Road | Ratchapak Park, Hua Hin 77110, Thailand and is open from 08.00am to 18.00pm.
Website: www.rajabhaktipark.in.th/
The Ratchapakdi Park is in Thai อุทยานราชภักดิ์, pronounced oet tha yaan raat cha phak (tones: low L, high H, middle M, falling D, high H, high H). Oet (L) tha (H) yaan (M) means 'park', raat (D) cha (H) is 'king' and phak (H) means 'loyalty'.
The Park of Loyalty to the King.
All these kings are equipped with swords, spears or daggers. They are warriors. The Thai word for 'king', กษัตริย์ kasat with two low notes, or more dignified พระมหากษัตริย์ phramahakasat also refers to it. 'Kasat' comes from Sanskrit and means 'caste of the warriors'.