City Pillar Shrine (Lak Mueang)

In front of you is the Lak Mueang, the City Pillar Shrine. It looks like a small temple, but it is Bangkok's symbolic heart: this is where the post marking the official birth of the capital was planted.

1A capital across the river

In 1782 General Chao Phraya Chakri was proclaimed king, known today as Rama I, the first monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which still reigns. He chose to leave Thonburi on the west bank and build a new city on the east bank, which was easier to defend. On 21 April 1782, at dawn according to the chronicles, the founding pillar was raised here: acacia wood, holding the city's horoscope. This was how Tai cities were founded, with an axis joining earth and sky and housing the guardian spirit, Chao Pho Lak Mueang.

2Two pillars

The original post deteriorated. In 1852 King Mongkut, Rama IV, had a new one made with a fresh horoscope, and since 1853 both have stood together in the present pavilion, crowned by a spire inspired by the shrines of Ayutthaya.

A popular tale claims that four people were buried alive at the founding to guard the city; the chronicles record nothing of the kind.

You'll hear the story often, but take it for what it is: a legend.

3What to look for

• The white and gold spire crowning the main pavilion.
• The offerings: lotuses, garlands, gold leaf and coloured ribbons tied on with devotion.
• The side shrines, dedicated to the city's other guardian deities.