Wat Prasat Nonthaburi วัดปราสาท is considered the oldest temple in Nonthaburi. It was constructed in the Maha Uttara style, which is that both side walls have no windows in front, with a castle-shaped door decorated with stucco patterns, behind onl…
Wat Prasat Nonthaburi วัดปราสาท is considered the oldest temple in Nonthaburi. It was constructed in the Maha Uttara style, which is that both side walls have no windows in front, with a castle-shaped door decorated with stucco patterns, behind only a small light hole. Wat Prasat was built in the reign of King Prasat Thong. Wat Prasat is now over 400 years old. Inside the temple are the oldest paintings in Nonthaburi and is registered as a national historic site. In addition, inside the temple, there is also the Tripitaka Hall which holds the ancient serpent ladder and still has the largest Ta-khian tree in Thailand and is more than 1,000 years old. To the Thais it is a sacred thing that they respect and worship.
Wat Prasat was built when King Prasat Thong came to set up a pavilion to dig a canal from Wat Tai Muang (วัดท้ายเมือง) to the mouth of Bang Kruai canal (ปากคลองบางกรวย) in front of Wat Khema Phirataram (วัดเขมาภิรตาราม) and a place to mobilize troops (barracks) to prepare to fight against the Burmese in Ayutthaya.
The ordination hall was built in the late Ayutthaya period. The base of the chapel is bent like the bow of a junk boat, known as the elephant's belly (ตกท้องช้าง). Inside the hall visitors can see murals depicting Thotjataka, which have eroded over time but are still bisible after all of these years. The mural paintings are in the late Ayutthaya period. Nonthaburi craftsmen have depicted the birth of ten Buddhas, which is considered one of the oldest murals in Nonthaburi. The mural is the story of the Tathagata Jataka
Behind the hall there is a "Holy Tripitaka in the middle of the water" built-in 1997. It is a wooden building above the ancient holy pond in the Ayutthaya period. The villagers call it the Holy Pond of Luang Pu Tum. Inside there is a centuries-old serpent staircase on display that is well preserved.
The temple is well worth a visit for anyone interested in thai history. It is also off the tourist maps and mostly just known ..
