Santa Cruz Church is a Catholic church on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, in the heart of Kudi Chin, a small Thonburi neighbourhood where descendants of Portuguese settlers, Chinese, Mon, Buddhist Thais and Muslims have lived side by side for more than two centuries. Admission is free. The church has no strictly fixed hours: it opens mainly late in the day and for masses, and is sometimes closed during the day; plan your visit for around 4-5pm and, if necessary, settle for the façade and forecourt. Allow an hour for the church and the neighbourhood. After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, King Taksin granted land on the Thonburi bank to Portuguese Catholics; a first church was built around 1770. The present building, in Renaissance Revival style and topped by a red dome, dates from 1913-1916 and was designed by Italian architects Annibale Rigotti and Mario Tamagno.
Highlights
The red dome
The Renaissance Revival church, with its pale walls and red dome topped by a cross, looks little like the neighbouring temples and can be spotted from afar.
The interior
When the church is open, you find a blue and gold coffered ceiling and chandeliers, in a very European atmosphere in the middle of Thonburi.
The lanes of Kudi Chin
The neighbourhood was restored from 2008 to become a cultural tourism destination: old houses, a riverside walkway (Kudi Chin Riverwalk), small cafés, and a stylised rooster, adapted from the Portuguese Rooster of Barcelos, as the community's emblem.
Khanom farang kudi chin
This small baked cake, a blend of Portuguese and Thai traditions, is the neighbourhood's speciality: only a few families still make it by hand (three households according to sources) and you buy it in the neighbourhood's bakeries, sometimes until stocks run out.
A neighbourhood of several faiths
A few steps from the church are the Buddhist temple Wat Kalayanamit, a Chinese shrine (Kuan An Keng) and a mosque, an example of coexistence that we detail in our guide to Bangkok's places of worship.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Decent clothing, shoulders and knees covered, especially if a mass is under way; photograph discreetly. Sunday masses are held in Thai (one source gives 8:30am); check the times on site. For a full half-day, combine the church with Wat Kalayanamit and Wat Prayoon. For Christmas, see our guide to Christmas in Bangkok. For the other great historic church, the Assumption Cathedral stands across the river.
How to get there
Soi Wat Kanlaya, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600, on the Chao Phraya. From Memorial Bridge pier (N6) or Rajinee pier (N7) on the Chao Phraya Express Boat, cross the river by ferry or over Memorial Bridge, then walk 5 to 10 minutes. From MRT Sanam Chai, allow about 20 minutes on foot.
Opening hours
Our guides that feature it
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