Sukhothai (city)
Template:Infobox city Template:Short description Sukhothai (Template:Langx, Template:IPA) was the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom (also known as the Kingdom of Siam).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sukhothai is 12 km west of the modern city of Sukhothai Thani.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Sukhothai is from Sanskrit sukha (सुख "happiness") + udaya (उदय "rise, emergence"), meaning "dawn of happiness".Template:Cn Founded in 1238, it is about 427 km north of Bangkok.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Sukhothai was the capital of the Thai Empire for approximately 140 years.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2014, 193 temples have been excavated and partly reconstructed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The stele of Ram Khamhaeng states the city had a triple wall and four gates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At its center was a pond, a "marvelous pond of clear and delicious water like the water of the Mekong in the dry season."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Aranyika monastery was west of the city, a great lake to the east, a market to the north, and the Khao Luang hill to the south.<ref name=Coedes>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
Old Sukhothai is a small town with nearly no hotels.<ref name=":0" /> Most visitors stay in New Sukhothai.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sukhothai occupies an area of 6,596 km2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The historic town of Sukhothai and related areas were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>