Set in a small open-air shrine compound at the corner of Ratchadamri and Ploenchit Roads in the central Pathum Wan district of central Bangkok, the Erawan Shrine is one of the most heavily visited religious sites in the central Thai capital and provides the principal Bangkok shrine to the Hindu god Brahma. The shrine has been continuously active since its dedication on 9 November 1956 and is currently visited by around fifteen thousand individual worshippers and tourists every day. The shrine was constructed in 1956 by the Thai construction company Bangkok Housing as part of the wider construction of the original Erawan Hotel on the adjacent corner site. The construction of the hotel had been beset by a series of unexpected delays and accidents during the early stages of the project, and a Thai astrologer consulted by the construction supervisors had attributed the misfortunes to the inauspicious original choice of site. The construction of the corner shrine to Brahma was recommended as the principal remedy. The principal central image of the shrine is a gilded statue of the Hindu god Brahma, shown in the traditional four-headed and four-armed form. The current image is the second of two installations on the site, replacing the original 1956 statue destroyed by a single attacker on 21 March 2006. The replacement statue, completed and installed on 21 May 2006, follows the original design exactly and is built from the same combination of plaster and gilded copper sheet as the original. The shrine is particularly famous for the traditional Thai classical dance performances given by the resident dancers as the principal offering on behalf of paying worshippers. Each dance lasts around three minutes and is performed by a group of between four and eight dancers in full traditional Thai classical costume, accompanied by a small live orchestra of the traditional pi phat ensemble. The principal worshippers pay for the dance as a votive offering on the granting of a particular request, with the standard rates currently around two hundred and sixty Thai baht for a single dance. The shrine was the target of a substantial bomb attack on 17 August 2015, in which around twenty individuals were killed and one hundred and twenty-five injured. The attack was the most serious single act of urban terrorism in modern Thai history and resulted in the temporary closure of the shrine for around two weeks while the various physical repairs were carried out. The shrine reopened on 4 September 2015 and has continued in normal operation since that date, with continuing regular attendance by both Thai worshippers and the substantial international tourist trade.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Ratchadamri and Ploenchit Roads, Bangkok, Thailand

Opening Date: 09/11/1956