With an attractive riverside setting Anantara Bangkok Sathorn, provides not only luxurious facilities and amenities as befits one of prominent luxury hotels Bangkok, but easy access to the city’s commercial and business district and the old European enclave of Bangkok Thailand.
Surrounded by the busy commercialism of Silom in Bangrak district is Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok’s principal Roman Catholic Church. Situated in a calm oasis of what was once the old European trading quarter that was also home to French missionaries in Thailand from the mid 17th century onward. The church is within a complex comprising of the Assumption College campus, a school and a convent. Originally there had been a printing press and a rectory and the church complex formed the nucleus from which Catholic missionaries carried out their work in Thailand.
The first church on the premises was completed in 1821. Designed by a French architect it was built predominantly from materials imported from France. However it was financed by a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. The church honours the ascension of Virgin Mary to heaven and the feast of Assumption on the 15th of August has been celebrated for nearly two hundred years here. The cathedral underwent two renovations and the renovation between 1910 and 1918 saw it reconstructed in the Romanesque style. As it sustained heavy damage in WWII, another restoration was effected and what is seen today is a combination of the early 20th century restoration and that after WWII. It displays the typical characteristics of the Romanesque style with semi circular arched doorways, tall towers, thick walls, vaulted interior and decorative arcading. Set in a small piazza, it has an impressive predominantly red brick exterior and two tall rectangular towers flank its arched main entrance. Bronze statues of St Peter and Pope Paul II were added to the front of the church after a 1984 papal visit. The spacious, expansive interior is even more impressive and features a vaulted coffered ceiling with gilded decorations and brick faced arches. The area behind the altar features an apse with a painted ceiling and stained glass windows. The church is still the centre of Roman Catholicism in Thailand with devotees flocking to its services particular in the mornings and evening. While there are daily services in Thai, the English service is held at 10 o’clock every Sunday. An excellent example of a little bit of European architecture is preserved in the Assumption Cathedral in Bangkok.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world. Google+
