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Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew

왕궁과 에메랄드 사원

Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew
Photo: Ian Gratton from Sutton-n-Craven, North Yorkshire, England, CC BY 2.0 · source

The Grand Palace is a huge group of royal buildings in the heart of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. It sits beside the Chao Phraya River and covers about 218,400 square metres, an area surrounded by four long walls. Inside are halls, pavilions, lawns, gardens and courtyards with gleaming gold spires and colourful tiered roofs.

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At a glance

Country
Thailand
Location
Bangkok, Thailand
Built
1782
Type
Palace

Quick answers

Where is Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew?

Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew is in Bangkok, Thailand.

When was Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew built?

Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew was built in 1782.

The Thai royal palace complex, including Wat Phra Kaew with the Emerald Buddha, golden chedis and tiered roofs.

Building began on 6 May 1782, when King Rama I, the first king of the Chakri dynasty, moved Siam's capital to Bangkok. Kings lived and ruled here until 1925, and the palace is still used for royal ceremonies and state events. Inside its grounds is Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which holds the most sacred Buddha image in Thailand. More than eight million people visit each year, making it one of the country's most popular sights.

The Emerald Buddha

Despite its name, the Emerald Buddha is not made of emerald. It is carved from a green stone, probably jade or jasper, and "emerald" describes only its colour. The statue shows the Buddha sitting in meditation and is only about 66 centimetres tall. Three times a year, at the change of the seasons, it is dressed in a different golden costume: one for summer, one for the rainy season and one for the cool season.

A statue with a long journey

Old records say the Emerald Buddha appeared in northern Thailand in 1434. One story tells that lightning struck a stupa in Chiang Rai and revealed a Buddha statue hidden under plaster inside. Over the next centuries it was moved to Lampang and Chiang Mai, and in 1564 it was taken to Vientiane in today's Laos, where it stayed for 214 years. In 1779 a Siamese general brought it back; he later became King Rama I and built the temple for it inside his new palace.

What's inside

The palace grows from many buildings added over time, especially by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), so its styles are mixed: Thai roofs with layered, pointed tiers stand near halls with European touches. Besides the temple and throne halls, the grounds also hold museums, including a textile museum in the Ratsadakorn-bhibhathana Building. Visitors walk among golden chedis, which are bell-shaped stupas, and temple walls covered in paintings that tell stories of the Buddha.

Fun facts

  • The Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most sacred image, is only about 66 cm tall.
  • The Emerald Buddha's golden costume is changed three times a year by the King of Thailand himself, or a senior royal in his place, in a special ceremony.
  • One legend says that when the king of Lan Na tried to send the Emerald Buddha to Chiang Mai, the elephant carrying it went to Lampang instead three times in a row.
  • The "emerald" in the statue's name refers only to its green colour, not the gemstone.
  • The palace grounds are so big that the king, his court and the whole royal government once worked inside its walls.

On the globe

The model shows the royal palace complex with Wat Phra Kaew's golden chedis and steep, tiered Thai roofs. Zoom in on Bangkok to spot the shining gold spires among the roofs.

Quiz time

Which is older: Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew or Bayon?

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Bayon. (1782 vs 1200) Bayon →

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Sources

Updated: 2026-10-13