Wat Ayothya

Wat Ayothya is a temple still in use by the Buddhist clergy. The monastery is outside the city island in the Hantra Sub-district of Ayutthaya. Wat Ayothya was situated along the west bank of today's defunct Khlong Ayothya. There is evidence that a community settled in this area much earlier than 1351 CE, the date of establishment of the city of Ayutthaya. The Northern Chronicles mention that around 1089/90 CE, on his throne ascent, King Luang turned his palace into a temple called Wat Doem (believed to be Wat Ayothya today) and built a new palace at the mouth of Mae Bia River in 1098 CE.

The existence of the precursor of Ayutthaya is mentioned in the oldest foreign chronicle by the Dutch VOC merchant Jeremias Van Vliet. The latter describes in the "Short History of the Kings of Siam - 1640" the birth of Ayutthaya in this place. Remark that Van Vliet mentions the existence of a city prior.

Ayutthaya Historical Research