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City Wall And Fortresse

City Wall And Fortresse

Krung Si Ayutthaya is an ancient capital of Thailand surrounded by the river. Besides the river fortification, if you take a boat trip around the city, you will find earth forts and more than 29 laterite forts surrounding the city to guard against all dangers.The ancient city wall originally built by King U Thong consisted of a moat and mound topped by wooden poles. In the reign of Phra Maha Chakkraphat, the dirt wall was replaced with brick-and-mortar, and a number of forts were built, including Pom Maha Chai, Pom Sat Kop, Pom Phetch, Pom Ho Ratchakhrue and Pom Champa Phon. A larger fortress was built at the confluence of the rivers. Pom Maha Chai and Pom Phetch are the most important big forts in Krung Si Ayutthaya. If you have a chance to visit these two forts, you should not miss them.Pom Maha Chai is located in the corner of Wang Chandrakasem where now the Hua Ro market is situated. The fort had been abolished in order to use bricks to build the new city in Bangkok since the reign of King Rama I.Pom Phet is opposite to Wat Phanan Choeng that is regarded as “a door to the ancient capital”. It is strategically important because it was used for defending enemies and it is also located at the confluence of the Chao Phraya River and the Pa Sak River which create a big whirlpool. If the invader was not skillful, his ship might sink. In terms of architectural features, it is a large fort made of bricks and laterite stones. Its thickness is 14 meters with a hexagonal feature which extends to the city wall. There is an arched space between pillars in the semi-circle shape, where its main canons are placed along the wall around the city. Nowadays, this area is developed to be a public park with shady trees.To visit these fortresses of Ayutthaya, there are several alternatives by going along the Chao Phraya River, the Pa Sak River and the Lop Buri River in order to see the forts around the island by boat or along the road in the city by car or by bicycle.