King Taksin the Great Monument

A 9-metre bronze King Taksin rides again at Wongwian Yai, the large roundabout on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, sabre raised as if signalling a cavalry charge. Italian-born sculptor Corrado Feroci — who adopted the Thai name Silpa Bhirasi and later founded what became Silpakorn University — cast the equestrian statue in 1953; it was unveiled on 17 April 1954. It marks the spot, roughly, where Taksin established Thonburi as his new capital after Ayutthaya fell to Burmese forces in 1767, and it’s one of Bangkok’s most recognisable pieces of public statuary simply by virtue of sitting in the middle of one of the city’s busiest junctions.

Reliefs of soldiers and civilians ring the base, standing in for the national unity Taksin rebuilt in the years after the fall of the old capital. The statue itself is genuinely striking up close — armour, sword, and warhorse all rendered at a scale that reads clearly even from a moving BTS train, since the Wongwian Yai station overlooks the roundabout directly. Getting to the base on foot means using the pedestrian crossings or underpass around the traffic island rather than crossing the live lanes; this is a functioning six-way junction, not a pedestrianised plaza.

Insider Tip: The BTS Wongwian Yai station platform gives a free elevated view of the whole monument and roundabout layout — worth a look even if you don’t plan to walk down to the base.

Watch out: Traffic around Wongwian Yai is heavy and fast most of the day. Use the marked crossings; don’t attempt to cut across the roundabout itself.

Every 28 December, the anniversary of Taksin’s coronation, the site hosts a formal wreath-laying ceremony marked nationally as King Taksin Memorial Day — expect crowds and road closures if visiting that week. On any other day it’s a five-minute stop rather than a destination in itself, easily combined with Wat Arun or a walk along the Thonburi riverside a short distance away.