Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin), Thonburi, Thailand
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| Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin), Thonburi, Thailand - Bangkok's historic Portuguese church |
Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin)
Bangkok's Historic Portuguese Catholic Church
Portugal was the first European power to establish diplomatic relations with the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam back in 1511. For the next few centuries, the Portuguese and Siamese maintained a close alliance and friendship, with a powerful Portuguese merchant class rising up in Ayutthaya, and the Portuguese even helping to defend Siam after the fall of the capital and the kingdom's move to Bangkok in the late 1700s.
Today, Santa Cruz Church, a beautiful old Renaissance Revival church is surrounded by the historic Baan Kudichin neighborhood, home to Bangkok's early Portuguese expat population.
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| the side of Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin), the historic Portuguese Catholic Church in Bangkok, Thailand |
Today, the ruins of San Petro Church is considered to be the oldest Portuguese church in Thailand, but after the sacking of the ancient capital of Ayutthaya in 1767, Thailand's Portuguese community relocated to the new capital, Bangkok.
As thanks for helping to defend the new capital, King Taksin of Thonburi granted a plot of land along the river to be given to the Portuguese expat community. Today, that community still stands as a tiny sliver of Siamo-Portuguese culture on the Thonburi side of the river.
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| a small shrine at Santa Cruz Church, the old Portuguese church in Thailand |
Santa Cruz once even served as Bangkok's cathedral before the construction of Assumption Cathedral across the river.
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| a statue of the Virgin Mary outside of Santa Cruz Church in Tonburi (Bangkok), Thailand |
Near the church, the Baan Kudichin Museum is a small private museum built inside an old house. Long ago, this home was owned by one of Bangkok's influential Portuguese families. Now, it's kept up as a museum full of history, culture, and artifacts from the early days of the Portuguese in Thailand as well as to the community which has been built around Santa Cruz Church.
Thailand is famous as the only Southeast Asian country never to have been conquered or colonized by a foreign power. While the Portuguese never tried to conquer Siam, they did leave quite a bit of influence in the culture and history.
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| the Baan Kudi Chin Museum, Tonburi (Bangkok), Thailand |
At the museum, I learned about several Thai words that have their roots in Portugese as well as the Thai foods that are influenced by the cuisine brought over by the Portuguese (including some of my favorite Thai desserts - I had no idea!).
The house, owned by a Catholic Siamo-Portuguese Family is full of historical artifacts, such as documents, a framed blessing from Pope JP2, an old Portuguese metal breastplate, canons, pistols, coins, and much more.
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| a papal blessing from His Holiness Pope John Paul II |
The community may be small, but it is thriving. It's a very cool secret area that I had never known about before. And I bet if you asked Thai people where the Thai word "pratu" (door or gate) comes from, most wouldn't know that it developed from the Portuguese word "porto"! Fascinating stuff.
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| a fountain at the Baan Kudi Chin Museum |
Some of the old families living in the neighborhood work hard to preserve Baan Kudichin's unique culinary culture. Part of that is "Khanom Farang", or "Foreign Snack", a bread-like cake topped with dried fruit and dusted in brown sugar.
Read more about Khanom Farang on my food and travel blog, The World of Street Food!
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| "khanom farang", or "foreigner snack" - a popular Siamo-Portuguese snack still produced in the Baan Kudi Chin neighborhood |
A few other historic Portuguese churches in Asia:
The Ruins of St. Paul's and the Martyr's Crypt, Macau, China: https://www.stainedglasstravel.com/2019/04/ruins-of-st-pauls-church-macau-special.html
St. Dominic's Church and the Sacred Arts Museum, Macau, China: https://www.stainedglasstravel.com/2019/05/macau-dominics-sacred-art-museum.html
Wat Khmen: The Oldest Church in Thailand: https://www.stainedglasstravel.com/2019/10/immaculate-conception-wat-khmen-oldest.html
Location
Santa Cruz Church is located in Tonburi, just across the river from Thailand's capital, Bangkok. The easiest way to get there is to take the MRT to Sanam Chai station, then walk to Rajinee Pier. From there, you can take the 3 baht ferry across the river directly to the Baan Kudi Chin neighborhood. Alternately, you can take the #8 bus to the King Rama I Statue, and walk across the Memorial Bridge to the church.
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