Lopburi Town
Lopburi City Map Click on any of the sights to see more details. |
Lopburi is one of Thailand's oldest occupied cities. It first rose to become a major kingdom during the sixth century. It was then called Lavo, or sometimes Luovo. Legend has it that the daughter of one of the kings of Luovo was sent north to found the city of Lamphun.
Around the 11th century, the kingdom was absorbed into the mighty Khmer empire based in Angkor Wat. When the rise of Thai kingdoms pushed back the boundaries the Khmer empire, Luovo regained its independence. In the 14th century, a marriage linked Lopburi to the newly emerged Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya.
In the 17th century, King Narai moved the capital to the more defensible Lopburi when western colonialists appeared to threaten Siam. Throughout his reign, he lived at Lopburi as much as eight months a year. After Narai's death, the city declined in importance, although King Rama IV briefly revived it in the 19th century.
Today, although historically important, Lopburi rarely appears on tourist itineraries. Most visitors to the city are Thais on a day trip from Bangkok to see the historic sights and the fields of sunflowers. For the foreign tourist, the easiest way to get to Lopburi is by train. The main sights of the historic city are a short walk from the train station. There are several trains between Bangkok and Lopburi every day, mainly in the morning and evening hours to serve commuters.
No discussion of Lopburi would be complete without mention of the town's rather sizable monkey population. They have become something of a symbol of the town, and are even feted with their own annual banquet by local tourism businesses.