Outer Court Buildings

During the time of the absolute monarchy, from Bangkok's founding in 1782 until the 1932 revolution, the Grand Palace was the complete center of government. The king acted as prime minister, and thus had many royal scribes, jurists and other government officials around him. The ranks of the civil service were invariably men, so their offices had to be located in the Outer Court. Thus, while the Inner Court was a city entirely of women, the Outer Court was very much a city entirely of men.

Although there were buildings in the outer court from the palace's very beginnings, all of the buildings you see today date from the times of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) and Rama VI. It was King Rama V that reorganized the government on modern functional grounds, creating Ministries of Finance, Interior, Defence, etc. necessitating the construction of many new buildings.

Today, the only government departments which still have offices in the Outer Palace are departments of the Bureau of the Royal Household.

Trivia: One of the original royal services housed in the Outer Court was the 'elephant department' charged with taking care of the King's elephants used for war and traveling around the country. Elephants have to be bathed frequently to keep happy, so the King's elephants were regularly lead down to the river for their baths. Today, if you travel to the Grand Palace by express boat, you alight at the Chang Pier. 'Chang' is the Thai word for elephant. The pier gets its name because the king's elephants used to bathe on the spot!

Sala Lukkhunnai

Sala Lukkhunnai

 
The Sala Lukkhunnai is perhaps one of the most elegant of the buildings constructed by Rama V to house his western-styled ministries. The Sala Lukkhunnai housed the Ministry of Interior in one wing and the Ministry of Defence in the other. The Gothic revival style was popular in the fifth reign, and can be seen in many other buildings, such as Wat Ratchabophit.
 

Sala Sahathai Samakhom

Sala Sahathai Samakhom

 
The Sala Sahathai Samakhom was also built by King Rama V as a military club. Originally, the columns on the outside formed a gallery, or veranda, around the building. The outer wall with its dark blue shutters was added later. Today, the building is used as a banquet hall by visiting dignitaries using the Borom Phiman mansion.

The Sala Sahathai Samakhom borders the south side of the large lawn which borders the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on the west. The entry to the temple is down an alley behind the Sala.

Phimanchaisri Gate

Phimanchaisri Gate

 
The Phimanchaisri Gate connects the Outer Court to the Central Court. It's among the most elaborate of the palace's gates, since it is the gate through which the King entered and left the palace in procession on special occassions. The photo is looking out towards the Grand Palace's main entrance, the Wisetchaisri Gate.