The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will reopen Mahakan Fort as the city’s new park at today, three months after the eviction of the centuries-old community inside the fort.
Bangkok Governor Asawin Kwanmuang said yesterday that the space inside the fort, which is now “spacious, green, peaceful, beautiful and safe,” will officially welcome the public at 5pm.
The fort was originally built in 1783 to protect the then-new capital city, which was established just a year prior to construction. Nowadays, Mahakan Fort is one of the only surviving walled fortresses that remain of the old city.
“From every angle, the fort’s elegance stands out, and you can see the city’s historic wall more clearly,” Asawin wrote on his official Facebook yesterday.
READ: The end of the centuries-old Mahakan Fort community (PHOTOS)
He hopes that the landmark with educate visitors about Thailand’s history, culture, and tradition.
The beginning of the capital’s new green space, however, grew out of a historic community’s bitter end. The land inside Mahakan Fort was once home to nearly 300 people whose proud stories dated back to the reign of King Rama III — 200 years ago — when servants of Thai aristocrats built their houses there in order to live close to their masters.
However, on April 25, the government gave the deadline for the residents to move out in order to turn the 6,400-square-meter area into the park that will open today.
Read more about the Mahakan Community and observe the moment when the fort’s oldest house and treasure was torn down in this exclusive feature.
Related:
BMA demolishes more homes inside Mahakan Fort
People of the Fort: Mahakan residents fight for their centuries-old home (PHOTOS)
History Lost: The end of the centuries-old Mahakan Fort community (PHOTOS)
End of an era: Pom Mahakan residents face eviction as fort to be turned into public park
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