Nonthaburi is over
400 years old, dating back to when Ayutthaya
was the capital. The town was originally
located at Tambon Ban Talat Khwan, a famous
fruit orchard where the Chao Phraya River
and various canals pass through.
King Prasat Thong ordered the digging of a
canal as a shortcut from the south of Wat Thai
Muang to Wat Khema because the old waterway
flowed into Om River to Bang Yai then to Bang
Kruai Canal next to Wat Chalo before ending
in front of Wat Khema.
After the new shortcut was completed, the Chao
Phraya River changed its flow into the new route
that remains today. In 1665, King Narai the
Great noticed that the new route gave enemies
too much proximity to the capital. Therefore,
he ordered that a fortress be built at the mouth
of Om River and relocated Nonthaburi to this
area. A city shrine still stands there.
Later during the reign of King Rama IV of the
Rattanakosin period, he ordered the town moved
to the mouth of Bang Su Canal in Ban Talat Khwan.
King Rama V then had the provincial hall built
there on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River.
In 1928, the hall was moved to Ratchawitthayalai,
Ban Bang Khwan, Tambon Bang Tanao Si. It is
now the Training Division of the Ministry of
Interior on Pracha Rat 1 Road, Amphoe Muang,
on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. The building
is of European architecture decorated with patterned
woodwork. The Fine Arts Department has registered
it as an historical site. The provincial hall
is now on Rattanathibet Road.
