History of City Pillar
King Rama I, the founding monarch of the Chakri Dynasty, commanded the installation of the City Pillar to be held on April 21, 1782, which was a Sunday, the 10th day of the waxing moon.
The City Pillar was placed at an auspicious location in the heart of Bangkok, then called "Krung Rattanakosin-intra-ayothaya".The Pillar was made from a Chaiyaphruk tree and the horoscope of the city was placed in its hollow. The Pillar, lacquered and gilded, stands 274 centimetres above ground and sits 200 centimetres underground. In 1852, King Rama IV commanded the old Pillar to be replaced with a new one. The King also tied the new city horoscope to his birth horoscope so that the country and people under royal protection would prosper forever. In the reign of King Rama V, the monarch commanded a grand renovation of the city's landscape in which many new official places and roads were constructed. This displaced five important shrines housing the city's guardian spirits. Statues of the spirits - Phra Sua Muang, Phra Song Muang, Phra Kanchaisri, Chao Chettakhup and Chao Hoklong - were relocated to the City Pillar Shrine.
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