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Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, covering 2,556 square kilometres, is located in the flat river plain of the Chao Phraya river valley. The presence of the Lop Buri and Pa Sak River make the province a major rice farming area.
Ayutthaya one of the major tourist attraction and was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong. It was the capital of Thailand (then called Siam) for 417 years from 1350 until it was sacked by the Burmese army in 1767. During this era Ayutthaya had 33 kings of different dynasties ruling the kingdom This period of Thai (Siamese)history is now usually referred as the Ayutthaya period or Ayutthaya kingdom. The Bowring Treaty (1855), signed by King Mogkhut between Siam and Britain, was the first of its kind and successfully opened up Siam to Western influence and trade.
The ruins of the old capital in the Ayutthaya historical park are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and have been so since December 1991. The province is also home to the Bang Pa-in summer palace complex.
Originally named Krung Kao (กรุงเก่า), the province was renamed to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya in 1919.[1]
The province is subdivided into sixteen districts (amphoe), 209 communes (tambon)/sub-districts and 1328 villages (muban). There are two districts which have the same English name; however this is only because the different pronunciation and thus different spelling in Thai gets lost in romanization. Ayutthaya is unique among the provinces of Thailand in that the district of its capital city is not called Amphoe Mueang [Ayutthaya], as the common scheme would suggest, but rather Amphoe Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya:
1. Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
2. Tha Ruea
3. Nakhon Luang
4. Bang Sai (บางไทร)
5. Bang Ban
6. Bang Pa-in
7. Bang Pahan
8. Phak Hai
9. Phachi
10. Lat Bua Luang
11. Wang Noi
12. Sena
13. Bang Sai (บางซ้าย)
14. Uthai
15. Maha Rat
16. Ban Phraek
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