Saraburi (Thai: สระบุรี) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Lopburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Pathum Thani, and Ayutthaya. It is believed to have been constructed in the year 1548 during the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat of Ayutthaya as a centre for recruiting troops.

Saraburi สระบุรี
Province
(Clockwise from top left) Wat Phra Phutthabat, the provincial symbol, Kaeng Khoi Junction railway station, the main railway station of the province, Curry puffs, good stuff of province, Mittraphap Road in the area of Muak Lek, Muak Lek old town zone, Chet Sao Noi Waterfall
Flag Seal
Map of Thailand highlighting Saraburi province
Country	Thailand
Capital	Saraburi
Government
• Governor	Manrat Rattanasukhon (since October 2018)
Area [1]
• Total	3,499 km2 (1,351 sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 56th
Population  (2018)[2]
• Total	645,024
• Rank	Ranked 40th
• Density	180.4/km2 (467/sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 17th
Human Achievement Index [3]
• HAI (2017)	0.6341 "high" Ranked 13th
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Postal code	18xxx
Calling code	036
ISO 3166 code	TH-19

Geography

Saraburi is on the east side of the Chao Phraya River valley. The eastern part of the province is covered by high plains and plateaus, while the western part is mostly low flat plains.^{[citation needed]} Saraburi province has 848 km² (327 sq mi) of forest or 24.2 percent of provincial area.[1] Two national parks are in the province. Namtok Chet Sao Noi protects 28 km² (11 sq mi) around a scenic waterfall. Phra Puttachai protects the Khao Sam Lan Forest, which consists of hilly landscape and is the source to several rivers and waterfalls. The highest elevation is the Khao Khrok at 329 m. The 45 km² (17 sq mi) area was declared a national park in 1981.

The town, as a gateway to the northeastern region, is 108 km from Bangkok. It occupies an area of 3,577 square kilometres.

History

Saraburi has been an important city since ancient times.^{[citation needed]} It is assumed to have been established about 1549 during the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. It may also be assumed that the area in Saraburi province has existed since Dvaravati period.

Ayutthaya period

Saraburi began to appear in the middle of the Ayutthaya period in 1569 during the reign of Mahinthrathirat. When the king of Hanthawaddy came to surround Ayutthaya, Mahinthrathirat has asked Setthathirath to bring the army to help, but the Lao army was ambushed by the Burmese army in Saraburi, until the Lao army fell back to Vientiane.

In the Ayutthaya period, assumed that Saraburi was located in the area of Bueng Ngong. Until 1890, has changed the new governor then moved the political office to Ban Phai Lom Noi.

Rattanakosin period

The new governor appointed by the county to rule Saraburi is Phraya Phichai Ronarongsongkram (Dist). In 1896, King Rama V ordered to built a railway line northeast up to Saraburi, Phraya Phichai Ronarongsongkram saw that the old town at Sao Hai far from the railway, the terrain was not suitable for the current conditions at that time and difficult to expand the city in the future. Therefore, a new town hall was built at Tambon Pak Phriao, construction has been ongoing and successful, able to move government officials to work on the city hall.

When the railway is finished. Later, many roads were built in Saraburi, such as Nong Don – Phra Phutthabat Road and Pichai Ronarongsongkram Road from Saraburi City to Sao Hai District built in 1928 – 1933. For other roads, in 1937 – 1939, Phahonyothin Road was built from Bangkok to Saraburi. In 1955 – 1958, Mittraphap Road was built from Saraburi to Nong Khai.

In 1827, The Thai army attacked Vientiane and led the Lao Vientiane, Lao Puan came to settled in Lopburi and Saraburi. As a result, Saraburi has Laotian came to settled, making Saraburi's population increase.

The Laotian who settled are divided into 4 groups:

1. Lao Wiang – Laotian from Vientiane, lives a lot in Kaeng Khoi district, Nong Khae district, Nong Saeng district, Wihan Daeng district, Sao Hai district and in Ban Mo district.

2. Phuan – Laotian from Muang Phuan came to settled in Nong Don district and in Don Phut district

3. Ngaew – Laotian from rural suburbs of Vientiane came to settled in Phra Phutthabat district.

4. Nyaw – Laotian from Khamkeut district came to settled in Kaeng Khoi district

In addition to the Laotian, there are also Chiang Saen people who came to settled in Saraburi in 1804, call themselves as "Yuan" currently live in every district in Saraburi except in Nong Don district and in Don Phut district.

Climate

Saraburi has a tropical savanna climate, Aw (Climate Classification system of Koppen) The climate is arid with little rain in winter, relatively high temperatures in summer, cool in winter, and rain from May to October, about 70–90 days

The average annual temperature is 28-29 degrees Celsius. Maximum temperatures average 33-34 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature averages 23–24 degrees Celsius. April is the hottest month of the year, while winters are cool in January.

Air quality

Saraburi has poor air quality resulting from cement production, chiefly stone crushing. In the area of Na Pra Lan Sub-district there are 133 plants, 17 mining sites, 32 stone mill plants, and 22 stone dressing plants. Air quality in the province frequently exceeds recommended limits for particulates.[4][5]

Education

There are 366 schools. There are a total of 125,255 students at all levels.^{[citation needed]}

Economy

In 2007 Saraburi's population had an average income per capita 214,537 baht per year, making it tenth highest in the country, second in the central provinces. Annual GDP was 129,275 million baht.^{[citation needed]}

Religion and culture

In 2007, Saraburi's population was 89.34 percent Buddhist, 597,138 people. There are 499 temples. There are total of 3,443 monks and 274 neophytes. Muslims number 953 (0.32 percent). There are five Christian churches.^{[citation needed]}

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the temple Wat Phra Buddha Baat. In the 17th century a hunter found a puddle of water which looked like a large footprint. It was declared a footprint of Buddha, and a temple was built around it. Phra Phutthabat means footprint of Buddha.

The provincial tree is Lagerstroemia floribunda and the provincial flower is the yellow cotton tree (Cochlospermum regium). The endemic crab, Larnaudia larnaudii is the provincial aquatic animal.[6]

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 13 districts (amphoe). The districts are further divided into 111 subdistricts (tambon) and 965 villages (muban).

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are:[7] one Saraburi Provincial Administrative Organization - PAO (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 38 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Saraburi, Kaeng Khoi, Phra Phutthabat and Thap Kwang have town (thesaban mueang) status. Further 34 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon).[2] The non-municipal areas are administered by 70 Subdistrict Administrative Organizations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Transport

Rail

Saraburi's main station is Saraburi Railway Station. There is a major rail junction at Kaeng Khoi Junction.

Road

Saraburi can be reached on Phahonyothin Road (Thailand Route 1). Mittraphap Road (Thailand Route 2) is a main road in the northeastern region. It has a beginning here which is a route that separates from the right side of Phahonyothin Road.[8]

Health

The main hospital of Saraburi is Saraburi Hospital, operated by the Ministry of Public Health.

Human achievement index 2017

Health	Education	Employment	Income
26	25	24	11
Housing	Family	Transport	Participation
53	39	17	32
Province Saraburi, with an HAI 2017 value of 0.6341 is "high", occupies place 13 in the ranking.

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]

Map with provinces and HAI 2017 rankings

Notable people

• Arthit Tanusorn (born 1975), retired footballer

References

External links

• Saraburi travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Provincial page, Tourist Authority of Thailand
• Khao Yai National Park
• Saraburi history in Thai language Archived April 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saraburi Province.

На других языках

[de] Saraburi (Provinz)

[ru] Сарабури (провинция)