Drum Tower | Royal Clock Tower | Historic Building | Bangkok

Drum Tower | Royal Clock Tower | Historic Building | Bangkok

King Rama I had the drum tower built in 1782. The three-storeyed tower features a wooden red structure replicating the style of the tower in ayutthaya period. Each storey houses a big drum which gives different sound to convey a different message.

The first drum named Yam Phra Surasri to signal dawn and dusk, the second drum named Akki Phinat signals a fire alarm, and the third drum named Phi Khat Phairi sounds a signals warning when invaders attack the city. In the reign of King Rama III, the tower rooftop was modified from thai style of mondop to chinese style.

Later it was back to its original form in the reign of King Rama IV. King Rama V had the tower demolished for building Chao Chet Park. A new tower of the same style was rebuilt in 1982 in the occasion of 200th anniversary of Bangkok.