page_title: Mrigadayavan Palace
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mrigadayavan Palace / History
caption_attribution_description: This is a photo of a monument in Thailand identified by the ID 0005041 (Thai Fine Art Department's link)
context_page_description: Mrigadayavan Palace is a former residence of King Vajiravudh, or Rama VI, who ruled Siam from 1910 to 1925. It is in Cha-am in Phetchaburi Province, Thailand. King Vajiravudh visited the palace twice during his reign. His first visit was during the summer of 1924 when he stayed for three months. His second visit lasted two months in the summer of 1925, after which he died. The palace is now a property of the Crown Property Bureau and is under the management of The Foundation of Mrigadayavan Palace under the patronage of Princess Bejaratana, the only daughter of Vajiravudh.
context_section_description: The palace was commissioned by King Vajiravudh to serve as a holiday villa. The king drafted the designs for the villa, which consists of sixteen teak buildings raised on concrete pillars and linked together by a series of walkways. Construction took place during 1923–1924, overseen by Italian architect, Ercole Manfredi.
  Around the year 1917, because King Vajiravudh had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, his physician, Phraya Phaet Phongsavisuttatibhadi, suggested that he sojourn in a warm and airy seaside climate. Mrigadayavan Palace was thus constructed in 1923. At first, there were three choices of sites for building the summer palace. The first one was in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, which was already a popular beach destination at that time. However, since the customary law prohibited the general public from entering areas where the king resided, King Vajiravudh decided to avoid troubling his people and considered alternative locations for a summer palace. He subsequently commanded the Royal Thai Navy to research appropriate sites. The beach at Bang Thalu in Phetchaburi was its first choice. This led to the construction of a summer palace in 1917 at Bang Thalu. The adjoining beach area was renamed Chao Samran Beach, which means 'the beach of joy'.
  The king stayed at the new palace every summer between 1918 and 1923. Apart from caring for his health, he also permitted the training of the Phetchaburi Wild Tiger Corps inside the palace compound. Later on, this training ground became known as Had Chao.
  Yearly visits gradually became the norm for the royal court. Several inconveniences were encountered. First of all, there was a lack of fresh water as indicated in the royal log book on a shortage of water during one summer. Secondly, it was inconvenient to travel between Chao Samran beach and Phetchaburi town. Only 15 kilometres distant, it took around five hours to get to the beach. Last, as Chao Samran beach was adjacent to a fishing village, flies were an ever present nuisance. King Vajiravudh decided to move his seaside residence to a new location.
  Finally, a secluded beach at Huai Sai Nua was found. It was between Chao Samran Beach and Hua Hin. The site was not only close to the train station, permitting easy access from the capital, but had abundant water.
  King Vajiravud appointed Ercole Manfredi, an Italian architect, who at the time was employed by the Ministry of Public Works, as the chief architect to complete the architectural plan based on the king's preliminary sketch, and assigned Chao Phraya Yommaraj (Pan Sukhum), Minister of Interior, to supervise construction. Existing residential edifices and structures at Chao Samran Beach were moved to the new site while the royal residence was being built. The construction started in 1923 and was completed in late-1924.
  The area was called Huai Sai, which means 'hog deer's stream', due to the number of hog deer found in this area. King Vajiravudh, therefore, named his new summer palace "Mrigadayavan". The word "Mrigadayavan" is auspicious, as in "Isipatana Mrigadayavan", the deer park in India where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. As well as naming the new palace, King Vajiravudh also sought to preserve the area's wildlife. On 12 May 1924, he issued a proclamation declaring the Huai Sai area a wildlife refuge. King Vajiravudh was frugal with the construction of Mrigadayavan Palace. He wanted this seaside palace to be a humble royal residence as compared with other palaces. The palace design was to be simple, yet elegant, in harmony with the tropical seaside climate.
caption: Mrigadayavan Palace
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