Sunday, April 11, 2010

National Museum of Royal Barges




On April 1932 King Rama VII crossed the lower span of the Memorial Bridge and embarked on the barge "Suphanahong" to travel by barge procession to the Grand Palace to mark the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Chakri Dynasty and Bangkok as the capital city. That was the last Royal Barge Procession of an absolute Monarch of Siam, for the following June a coup d'etat changed the government from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

The barge sustained severe damage during bombing of Bangkok in World War ll, soon after his return from school in Europe, the present king, H.M.King Bhumibol Adylvadej went to see the barges in their dock. Noting their deterotiatiom, His Majesty ordered their restoration; and decided to revive the ancient tradition of the Royal Barge Procession for auspicious occasions. Artists under the direction of the Fine Arts Department spent more than a year repairing the damage. In 1972 this dock was then renovated and established by the Fine Arts Department as the National Museum of Royal Barges.

The National Museum of Royal Barges is situated in a boathouse on the bank of Bangkok Noi Canal, Arun-amarin Road, Bangkok and is under the responsibility of the Fine Arts Department. As space is limited, only eight out of a total of 52 royal barges are displayed at the museum. Six are docked at Wasukri Pier and the other 38 are kept by the Royal Navy. One of the boats featured at the museum is the Supannahong Royal Barge, which was rebuilt during the reign of King Rama VI. (It was first built during the reign of King Rama I.) The barge was recognized as a Heritage Boat by the World Boat Organization on June 4, 1992.

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