Address: Pra Sumen Road, near Bang Lamphu and Khao Sarn Road, Bangkok Thailand.
Tel: 0-2281-5052, 0-2629-5284
Opening Hours: Sunday from 9 AM - 4 PM
No entrance fee
Available for walk-in and group visitors. Group visitor is recommended to call the museum in advance for proper arrangement.
How to go:
1. From Khao Sarn Road, walk pass all the pubs&hotels toward Ta-Now Road then turn left and walk straight to the roundabout. Wat Bowon Niwet is on the opposite side of the roundabout. (5-10 minutes walk)
2. From Pra Athit pier, walk straight along Pra Sumen road until reach the first intersection, carry on straight until see a branch of Kasikorn Bank (green bank), walk pass it for another 10 meters then cross the road to enter Wat Bowon Niwet's gate. (10-15 minutes walk)
3. No air-cond. bus route 56, 68
4. Air-cond. bus route 68
The Museum and library of Wat Bowon Niwet Vihara Rajavaravihara (or Wat Bowon or Wat Bowon Niwet) is located in the same area of Wat Bowon, near Pra Sumen road. An objective of the museum is to praise the present supreme patriarch - His Holiness Supreme Patriarch Suwattana Mahadhera Charoen Kashawatra, the current abbot, and the former abbots of Wat Bowon for their tremendously contributions and heartily hard works that had been sacrificed to develop Buddhism and the nation. The museum houses in the 2-storey heritage yellow building which was renovated on April 21, 2006 to celebrate King Rama IV's 200th anniversary birthday and to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King Rama IX's accession to the throne.
7 years later, on April 21, 2013 H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn inaugurated the Museum and library of Wat Bowon Niwet at Manusaya Naga Viddhayatan building.
The museum exhibits the history of Wat Bawon Niwet, biography, prestige, works, accomplishments and displays eight necessary items for Buddhist monk of His Holiness Supreme Patriarch Suwattana Mahadhera Charoen Kashawatra and former abbots.
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| The theater hall on the first floor |
The first floor of the museum is a theater hall that shows the 7 minutes movie of history of Wat Bowon Niwet. The movie is currently available in Thai only but the exhibition upstairs describes in both Thai and English. Wat Bawon was established in King Rama III era in year 1826 and originally named Wat Mai. By the year 1923, King Rama VI integrated Wat Bowon and Wat Rangsri into one. The temple is the headquarter of Thammayut monastic sect that King Rama IV brought the sect into the country in year 1851. King Rama IV, V, VI, VII and His Majesty King Rama IX ordinated at this temple and studied Dharma here for a while before went back to the throne. The atmosphere inside the museum is cool and quiet which is good for learning, enjoying the history and escape from the heat outside.
Going up the second floor, it is partitioned into a central hall and 6 rooms which each displays biography and works of each great abbots of the temple. The hall shows pictures of King Rama IV, V, VI, VII and His Majesty King Rama IX while ordinating and staying at Wat Bowon. A multimedia kiosk locating at the center of the hall is where visitors can learn the past of Wat Bowon. The information boards on both side of the second floor hall presents how Wat Bowon is known as "The Blueprint of Thammayut monastic sect" temple and how it also known as "The educational monastery of the king and royal family".
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| The kiosk is at the center of the hall and the pictures of the 4 kings in monkhood on the wall |
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| The corridor in front of exhibition rooms |
The first room displays the biography, remarkable talents, prestige and works of His Majesty King Mongkut, Rama IV who ruled the country from April 1851 to October 1868 while he was ordinating. The exhibition consists of a bronze sculpture of the king at the center of the room and a short movie called "The great Bodhi tree of Bhuddism Dharma" that illustrates the king's biography and how he brought Thammayut sect into Siam. King Rama IV devoted his life into religion. While he was a monk, he traveled around the country and met Bhuddhawongso, a monk who strictly followed Bhuddha's canon, who impressed the royal monk and inspired King Monkut the religious reform later when he arrived back in town. His majesty also master liberal arts. His hand writing is an old cursive classic style shown in a showcase at the center of the room. Unfortunately, I can't read anything.
King Rama IV was a great scientist and an expert of astronomy. With his astronomy skill, the king predicted the natural phenomenon of eclipse in year 1868. He went to see the eclipse at Wah Kor, a swampy, rural (at the time) area in Prachuab Khirikhan province with a large entourage. He had malaria fever from the local mosquitoes and died later in the same year in Bangkok. I know nothing about astronomy but can feel that astronomical tools are pretty cool. The tools look complex and not easy to understand .. really wondered how to use these tools, anyway, if you want to know how to measure latitude and longitude by the sun, you can consult here.
King Rama IV was a great scientist and an expert of astronomy. With his astronomy skill, the king predicted the natural phenomenon of eclipse in year 1868. He went to see the eclipse at Wah Kor, a swampy, rural (at the time) area in Prachuab Khirikhan province with a large entourage. He had malaria fever from the local mosquitoes and died later in the same year in Bangkok. I know nothing about astronomy but can feel that astronomical tools are pretty cool. The tools look complex and not easy to understand .. really wondered how to use these tools, anyway, if you want to know how to measure latitude and longitude by the sun, you can consult here.
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| Left, a sextant used to measure the height of the sun for calculating latitude and longitude Right, star chart of leather and paper used to identifying and locating stars, constellations and galaxies to set standard time table |
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| Traditional piston lighter |
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| Air pressure experiment tool |
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