Vimarnmek Palace is the largest golden teak wood building in the world, and is an outstanding example of 19th Century Thai architecture influenced by European design.
Built in 1900 by King Rama V (who took residence in 1906); it was restored by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in 1982 as part of the dynasty’s bicentennial celebrations.
The planting scheme throughout this Palace landscape is an interesting blend of new ornamentals and original trees, as well as numerous mixes of Thai shrubs and annuals.
The Palace’s large collection of trees hold a lot of significance within the realm of Thai landscape design, as Thai’s have always planted trees in Palace’s for both aesthetic and practical purposes. There is an abundance of fruit trees close to the main building – Mango, Jackfruit, Tamarind and Custard Apple, plus, there are many trees within the grounds that are used for traditional Thai medicine.
The tallest trees in the compound belong to the Dipterocarpus family, indigenous to Thailand, and a traditional and popular source of hard wood used for Thai furniture.
The Palace is located towards the rear of the park surrounding the National Assembly (west of Dusit Zoo). Location map here.
