Phra Ram Ratchaniwet

Phra Ram Ratchaniwet — better known locally as Ban Puen Palace (Wang Ban Puen) — is a two-storey German Art Nouveau palace on the south side of Phetchaburi town. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) ordered its construction in 1910 as a rainy-season retreat, an alternative to the hilltop Phra Nakhon Khiri palace that had become impractical to reach. Entry costs 50 THB for foreign visitors, 20 THB for Thai nationals.

Rama V died months after the foundation stone was laid in 1910 and never saw the palace finished. Construction continued under his son, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), who completed the building in 1916 and gave it its formal name. German architect Karl Döhring designed it in Jugendstil style — steep, twin-peaked brown-tiled roofs imported from Europe, wide arched windows, and a domed circular hall on one wing — loosely modelled on a German royal summer residence. A German engineer oversaw construction on site.

The palace now operates as a museum under the Royal Thai Army’s 15th Military Circle, which has managed it since a Fine Arts Department restoration in the late 1980s. Rooms open to visitors display Döhring’s original architectural drawings, period furniture, and photographs from the building’s royal and military history; the central courtyard is sometimes cited as an early site for badminton in Thailand, a detail from the palace’s first years. The mansard roofline and pale stucco façade look distinctly European against Phetchaburi’s temple skyline — part of the draw for visitors who’ve already seen the town’s more Thai-style royal architecture.

Insider Tip: Visit Phra Nakhon Khiri first, then Ban Puen Palace — seeing the older hilltop palace explains why Rama V wanted a flatter, easier-to-reach alternative just a few kilometres away.

Watch out: As a functioning military-managed site, rooms or the full building can close without notice for army events — call ahead if a visit here is the main reason for the trip.

Ban Puen Palace sits on Ratchadamri Road on the south side of Phetchaburi town, a short drive or tuk-tuk ride from the centre. It pairs well with a half-day loop that also takes in the Phetchaburi riverside old town, where wooden shophouses and a community-run boat trip offer a much older slice of the town’s history than either royal palace.