Don Chedi District
Amphoe Don Chedi ( Thai: อำเภอ ดอนเจดีย์ ) is a district ( Amphoe - administrative district ) in the west of the province of Suphanburi. Suphanburi is located in the western part of central Thailand, capital of the county Don Chedi is located about 31 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Suphanburi.
Geography
The neighboring Amphoe are clockwise from the north: Nong Ya Sai, Sam Chuk, Si Prachan, Mueang Suphanburi and U Thong and Amphoe Lao Khwan Kanchanaburi province.
Products
The OTOP product of this district are woven baskets and bags from raffia and rice straw.
History
The area of the county was originally part of Amphoe Si Prachan. At 1 January 1962 has been set up Don Chedi first as a sub-district ( King Amphoe ). There was the time from the two Tambon Don Chedi and Nong Sarai. On July 27, 1965 Don Chedi was promoted to Amphoe.
Attractions
The Don Chedi Monument is a new, snow white Chedi, which was built over the ruins of a chedi, which was only discovered in 1913 by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab after decades of search. It should have been built by King Naresuan, having in January 1593 - could retaliate an attack by the Burmese crown prince in a historic battle successfully - hardly become king of Ayutthaya. In his honor Silpa Bhirasri created a huge statue of the king on his war elephants, which can be admired in front of the Chedi. Also, the seal of the province of Suphanburi shows the two rulers in the fight against elephant elephant. Every year on 25 January, the Royal Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated for seven days with the " Don Chedi Memorial Fair" here. During the celebrations, historical exhibitions, Light -And- Sound - shows and beauty contests, live music and singing competitions are to be seen.
Controversy
According to the official version, the Burmese should have trounced and built over the remains of the Burmese crown prince at a Chedi Chedi Don King Naresuan. So it describes at any rate in 1926, the Thai amateur historian and archaeologist Prince Damrong Rajanubhab in his book Tamnan Phra Phuttha Chedi Sayam He relies on a chronicle that in 1907 a certain Luang Prasoet Aksornit (later Phra Pariyati Dharmadhata called ) in a private home has been found, and said to have been written during the last years of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. The seven recovered after the destruction of Ayutthaya chronicles are not very meaningful, exactly where this historic battle to have taken place. Only the Luang Prasoet version called as a place Suphanburi, specifically Nong Sarai district in Phang Tru ( Tru Taphang ). In one led by Prince Damrong search really a ruined chedi Amphoe Don Chedi in today was found that had a square base of 10 Wah (20 m) and a height of six Wah (12 m). Old people in the vicinity were interviewed and told of an elephant duel. That was enough for Prince Damrong to tell King Vajiravudh his investigation, whereupon the king officially recognized this as a ruin, built by King Naresuan.
Recent research by the art historian and chairman of the Siam Society Piriya Krairiksh can, however, doubt this representation. For him it is eg implausible when in Luang Prasoet version exact times shown are made like: " On Sunday, the 9th day of the 2nd growing modes to 10.12Uhr ... ". It is quite unlikely that the king had taken an astrologer into battle, who had the leisure to be able to do such precise time calculations. More Thai sources ( Phongsawadan Nuea - "Chronicle of the North" ) also confuse King Naresuan, who grew up as a hostage in Burma and therefore wore a Burmese title, with the Burmese Crown Prince Hamsavati.
It had Prince Damrong at the time failed to bring in more contemporary sources that were written by foreigners who had lived at that time in Ayutthaya. Among these was because the Dutch VOC director Jeremias Van Vliet, who lived in the Thai capital from 1633 to 1641. He was already reported in 1636 and again in 1640 in his Short History of the Kings of Siam from the Battle of Phra Naret ( Naresuan ) against the Burmese, which should, however, have taken place " outside the capital of Ayutthaya ", namely " a half-mile above the city ". There is still today the imposing Chedi Phu Khao Thong. The probability that the Chedi Phu Khao Thong was built by King Naresuan to commemorate his victory over the Burmese prince, still wins by comparison with dates that the German explorer Engelbert Kaempfer in 1690 in his Description of the Kingdom of Siam has made.
Even Francis H. Giles describes in his article A critical analysis of Van Vliet 's Historical Account on Siam in the 17th Century that Burmese sources of a battle " outside the walls of Ayutthaya " write what is in line with Van Vliets information.
So it is clear to Piriya Krairiksh that Prince Damrong was mistaken, and that the real Treasure of King Naresuan the Chedi Phu Khao Thong is north of Ayutthaya.
Management
The district Don Chedi is divided into 5 subdistricts ( tambon), which in turn are in 49 municipalities ( Muban ) divided. ( Population figures from 2003)
There are two small towns ( thesaban tambon) in the district:
- Don Chedi ( Thai: เทศบาล ตำบล ดอนเจดีย์ ) consists of parts of Tambon Don Chedi,
- Sat Krachom ( Thai: เทศบาล ตำบล สระ กระโจม ) consists of parts of the tambon Sa Krachom.
There are also five " Tambon Administrative Organizations" (TAO, องค์การ บริหาร ส่วน ตำบล - administrative organizations) in the district.