800 year old castle in Korat successfully renovated

[webfact]

800 year old castle in Korat successfully renovated

 

  

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, 22 August 2016 (NNT) - An 800-year-old castle in Khon Buri district, Nakhon Ratchasima province is going to become a new tourist attraction after undergoing a 10-month renovation. 

South Khon Buri sub-district Mayor Somchart Dejdon complimented the beauty of the ancient castle during a follow-up inspection. The renovation was carried out by the Department of Fine Arts. 

He said Khon Buri residents were pleased to learn that the castle had been successfully restored, adding that he expected to see a high number of tourists at the site which is located inside Ban Khon Buri Nakhon Thammakosit Wittayakarn School. 

It is believed that the castle, commonly known as Prasart Khon Buri, was built during the reign of King Chai Woraman VII or around 800 years ago. It also served as a hospital to treat sick pilgrims traveling through the town to attend religious ceremonies in other cities. 

 

-- nnt 2016-08-22

[ezzra]

 

If the renovations and people who did it anything like the people who renovated

my place for a tone of money, they will have to re do it as soon things will

start to fall apart.....

[taichiplanet]

i am hoping the pic is of its unrestored state, if not then it looks like it was put together by a group of 10 year olds.

[soalbundy]

That's a castle ? Looks like a small bungalow that was hit by a bomb

[mike324]

thailand has some good history, sadly no one to research and document it...

[Redline]

Oh dear, oh my, oh geez, god....please someone inform someone that there are no castles here

[Bredbury Blue]

^Prasat, a Khmer and Thai term meaning castle, palace, or temple.

Looks interesting. Love these old khmer ruins. Doesn't look like there's much in Khonburi. Can see us paying a visit - anybody been to khonburi?

Here's some further pictures of the Castle.
http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/NewsEN/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNSOC5908220010007

[Sydebolle]

And for those who would like to go and visit this site, the GPS data would read 14.574623, 102.153784; open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, incl. weekends. 

[impulse]

3 hours ago, taichiplanet said:

i am hoping the pic is of its unrestored state, if not then it looks like it was put together by a group of 10 year olds.

 

Like Stonehenge looks any better?  Yet, it draws tourists by the busload...

 

Still, I hope they didn't spend their tourist earnings just yet.

[Bredbury Blue]

Thanks for the GPS coordinates - I did search Google maps but couldn't find it, so very helpful.

So I now know where it is - what area is best to stay to visit?

[SOTIRIOS]

...they aren't serious are they....???

 

...how much did it set them back piling those stones/bricks up...???

[ajarnmarc]

3 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

And for those who would like to go and visit this site, the GPS data would read 14.574623, 102.153784; open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, incl. weekends. 

Even though I have no intentions to visit, 

it's great to see someone provide the location, 

which is certainly going to be helpful for those who wish to visit this location.

Cheers to you Sydebolle for your time, 

and gracious consideration for others.

[tom21]

looks good to me . but looks like a temple

[callaway]

Looks like they bought all the old blocks from Angkhor Wat that they have piled out the back. Parts of some ruins were dis-assembled to remove trees and the bloke in charge died and now no-one knows how it goes back together. Maybe they got some cheap and built this old/new castle? Possible?? Any one ever see this before the re-build?

[Toknarok]

     There's one of these structures in Ban Kruat. Called Prasat Thawng (sp) it's located next to the market place. For years it lay in ruins overgrown with big trees and vegetation/ About 3 years ago some organisation (I don't know who) started to renovate the place. The trees were cut down, vegetation cleared and a front end loader brought in the shift accumulated dirt. A friend of mine who is a bit of an amateur  archaeologist tore his hair out at the sight of heavy machinery working in a thousand year old structure.

   The renovation is now complete and it looks quite impressive. The grounds have been landscaped with moats and lawns, in fact it looks a lot better than the one in the OP picture IMO.

    It's a typical Khmer building in the style of Ankhor Wat and Phanom Rung which is to be found 30 kilometres to its North East. It is said that it was probably a resting place come hospital staging post on the road from Phanom Rung to Ankhor Wat the main capital city at that time.

   If you're in Ban Kruat have a look at it, no entrance fee or anything like that, it's probably worth half an hour of your time if you're interested in that sort of thing.

[taichiplanet]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Like Stonehenge looks any better?  Yet, it draws tourists by the busload...

 

Still, I hope they didn't spend their tourist earnings just yet.

Really cannot compare the 2. Stonehenge hasn't been 'renovated', maybe they propped up a few stones but basically it has been 'conserved'. The setting of Stonehenge also adds to its mystic.

 

Maybe the article used the wrong word, a renovation (or recontruction) is basically bringing it back to would it looked like orignally; it would have been plastered and painted etc. I wouldn't even go so far as saying the Korat castle has been conserved, just partially reassembled. Even so, i'd still go and see it as i like looking at this old structures, as long as they don't charge me farang price!

 

an interesting short video on how Angor Wat may have looked, i'm not saying the building in Korat looked like this, but it would certainly attract a lot more visitors if it did!

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/a-digital-reconstruction-of-angkor-wat/20077

 

Edited August 23, 2016 by taichiplanet

[Bredbury Blue]

I've been to quite alot of the khmer ruins sites around Thailand, and about 25 years I visited Prasat Hin Muang Tam and then Phanom Rung 8kms away (I've visited Phanom Rung quite a few times over the years). The former had been only partially restored and I found it far more interesting than the fully restored Phanom Rung. Earlier this year I visited them both again, Prasat Hin Muang Tam has now been fully restored and it's very impressive and I continue to prefer it to the tourist attraction of Phanom Rung.
I for one enjoy these places but I enjoy any historical place in any country.

[Toknarok]

        I don't think you can really compare Phanom Rung with Meuang Tam. They are basically different structural designs. Phanom Rung is a much more elaborate building. When I first visited Meuang Tam it was merely a jumbles pile of bricks in a field. It took almost twenty years to restore P. Rung whereas once they got started on M. Tam it was completed in about seven.

        The atmosphere in both places is IMO quite different. Meuang Tam is a laid back place where it's nice to stroll around the grounds at your leisure, whereas Phanom Rung is a striking example of Khmer Ankhor Wat type architecture, and there are of course the splendid views out over Southern Buriram Province from the top of the mountain.

[Bredbury Blue]

^The comparison I made was with regards my preference. I think I dislike the coach party crowds at phanom rung and like having muang tam to myself (same as I prefer Si Satchanalai to Sukhothai).

 

Sounds like we viewed muang tam decades ago in the same state.