Nonthaburi is over 400 years old, dating back to when Ayutthaya
was the capital. The town was originally located at Tambon
Ban Talat Khwan, a famous fruit orchard where the Chao Phraya
River and various canals pass through.
King Prasat Thong ordered the digging of
a canal as a shortcut from the south of Wat Thai Muang to
Wat Khema because the old waterway flowed into Om River to
Bang Yai then to Bang Kruai Canal next to Wat Chalo before
ending in front of Wat Khema.
After the new shortcut was completed, the
Chao Phraya River changed its flow into the new route that
remains today. In 1665, King Narai the Great noticed that
the new route gave enemies too much proximity to the capital.
Therefore, he ordered that a fortress be built at the mouth
of Om River and relocated Nonthaburi to this area. A city
shrine still stands there.
Later during the reign of King Rama IV of
the Rattanakosin period, he ordered the town moved to the
mouth of Bang Su Canal in Ban Talat Khwan. King Rama V then
had the provincial hall built there on the left bank of the
Chao Phraya River. In 1928, the hall was moved to Ratchawitthayalai,
Ban Bang Khwan, Tambon Bang Tanao Si. It is now the Training
Division of the Ministry of Interior on Pracha Rat 1 Road,
Amphoe Muang, on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. The building
is of European architecture decorated with patterned woodwork.
The Fine Arts Department has registered it as an historical
site. The provincial hall is now on Rattanathibet Road.
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