Phitsanulok
'Vishnu's Heaven'—Sukhothai's major city, Ayutthaya's brief capital, King Naresuan's birthplace, 'most beautiful Buddha image in Thailand,' now rice breadbasket.
Phitsanulok means "Vishnu's Heaven" in Sanskrit—and for centuries it was. The city began as Song Khwae, a strategic 11th-century outpost, then grew into the Sukhothai Kingdom's major eastern city. In 1357, Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat rose here, housing what many Thais consider the most beautiful Buddha image in the kingdom: Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, gold-covered, in the posture of submission. The temple still draws pilgrims; the image has been copied countless times.
The succession of capitals passed through. Song Khwae eclipsed Sukhothai itself, becoming the royal seat in 1378. For 25 years, Phitsanulok served as the Ayutthaya Kingdom's capital. King Naresuan the Great was born here in 1555—the ruler who expanded Siam to its greatest territorial extent by conquering portions of modern-day Burma and Cambodia. The Nan River that made the city strategic for ancient commerce now irrigates the "bread basket of Thailand"—cotton, tobacco, and especially rice flowing south to consumers across the country and world.
Today Phitsanulok (population 840,000, Thailand's 15th largest province) demonstrates how religious and royal heritage can sustain a modern economy. Universities, hospitals, and modern infrastructure serve a commercial center dealing in agricultural commodities. The Buddha image remains the attractor; the rice paddies remain the metabolism. What Vishnu blessed, the Nan River waters.