Sunday, 21 September 2014 - European Heritage Day 2014.
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| Garden house view |
Every year, on Heritage Day ('Journée du Patrimoine'), some of the major public buildings in France open their doors to the public.
The French Embassy in Thailand has been doing this for a number of years already. So, yesterday was the day, when the Residence of the French Ambassador to Thailand was open to the public from 10:00AM till 04:00PM.
It was a hot, sunny day. And quite a lot of visitors took advantage of this wonderful opportunity to visit this lovely colonial house on the bank of the Chao Phraya River.
A bit of history
Although the Portuguese were the first to have had relations with the Kingdom of
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| Veranda view |
Thailand 500 years ago, the French were the first to establish diplomatic relations with Thailand. A delegation of Thai envoys was invited to come to France by King Louis XIV. As they arrived in the harbor of Brest in Brittany, the street near the French Embassy was recently renamed "rue de Brest'. They met with 'The Sun King' in Versailles and were impressed by what they had seen there at the time.
The Ambassador's Residence
This lovely colonial house is thought to be the oldest diplomatic mission on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River.
It was built in the 19th century after HM King Chulalongkorn offered the house and the land to the French Mission in 1875.
In the first years of the new millennium, the residence was renovated to be more in keeping with modern standards of comfort.
The decoration uses elements of Thai architecture and furniture in a discreet and contemporary style. Antique pieces blend with modern art in an elegant and tasteful arrangement.
Needless to say, it was a real pleasure to be able to be in such a lovely, historical landmark in town.
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| Reception room |
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| Sitting room |
An open garden on the river
From the residence veranda, there is a great view over the tropical garden and the Chao Phraya. For the occasion, the lawn that stretches all the way to the river bank was populated with colorful sculptures of hippopotami, reminiscent of Niki de Saint Phalle's sculptures. This is the work of a French Art studio in Bangkok called PAJ'Art.
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| The lawn |
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| Garden hippo |
It was truly a great opportunity to visit this place. But since the Heritage Day has now become a European celebration, it would be nice if other European Diplomatic Missions could do the same. The neighboring old colonial Residence of the Portuguese Ambassador for instance would be most certainly another worthy place to see in town.
Christian Sorand
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| Perspective |
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| Rear view |
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| French flag |
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