King Taksin the Great Shrine

Both the interior and exterior are photogenic, with a large bronze statue of the king and some beautifully-executed period murals on the inside and hundreds of statues of horses, warriors and chickens on the outside. Taksin loved horses and was a warrior himself, but the chickens remain a bit of a mystery.

King Taksin (1734-1782) went from hero to zero, rather like his almost-namesake Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former Prime Minister now in exile. In the king’s case, his heroic act was to rally the Siamese troops after the defeat by the Burmese at Ayutthaya in 1767. The Siamese managed to repel the invaders and he was crowned king in 1768. However, later he became delusional, expecting all to treat him as a god and imprisoning his own family. He was deposed in 1782, tied up in a velvet sack and beaten to death with a sandalwood club, after which the reign of the Chakri dynasty began. It continues to this day.

Clearly the local inhabitants prefer to remember only Taksin’s heroic acts, as they are constantly making offerings here. If you happen to be in town between 28 December and 3 January, the shrine is the focus of a lively festival.