Wat Ratchaburana is one prominent Buddhist temple standing right to the north of Wat Mahathat, in the middle of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ayutthaya Historical Park, central Thailand.

Wat Ratchaburana is situated right opposite to the Wat Mahathat, with merely one road lying in-between. The temple was erected around the year of 1424, during the reign of King Borommarachathirat II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Originally, the structure wasn’t a Buddhist temple, but a mausoleum. As recorded by the history, the two elder brothers of King Borommarachathirat II declared war upon each other for the throne from their father, but both ended up tragically losing their lives. Therefore the youngest son inherited the kingship and built this site to cremate the former king and two of his brothers, and store their ashes here permanently.

The layout of Wat Ratchaburana generally consists of one main pagoda rising in the centre, with four smaller prangs on four corners. The main pagoda is of extremely high historical and aesthetic value, ridden with several layers of Buddha figures and mythical creatures at the bottoms such as naga, the snake-shaped deity with seven or nine heads; Garuda, the humanoid figure with bird head and wings, and other common religious patterns. Since this place was used as the mausoleum storing the ashes of the former king, a great stash of precious artifacts, jewels and other items were believed to have been buried alongside the ashes under the main prang. Unfortunately, the tomb was broke in and looted by a gang of bandits in the year of 1957, which brought up the public and the Thai authority’s attention to the incident. Some of the artifacts were recovered and more were unearthed from the Wat Ratchaburana thereafter, most of which are now stored in the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.

The Wat Ratchaburana is opened to the public to climb up to the top or go down to the underground chamber at present, but only features one awfully narrow and steep stair on the side, which can only allow one person to go up or down.