Phrae

Phrae stands on the eastern bank of the Yom River, in a valley enclosed by the mountains of northern Thailand. Its old walled town was the centre of a principality whose temples and religious monuments reflect the traditions of the northern Tai lands. The revered shrine of Wat Phra That Cho Hae lies southeast of the city, and its foundation is associated with the fourteenth-century Sukhothai period.

The Yom valley connected Phrae with the northern and central regions, while mountain ridges separated it from the neighbouring basins. In the fifteenth century the expanding kingdom of Lan Na brought Phrae within its sphere. Like other northern towns, it subsequently experienced Burmese domination and the warfare that accompanied struggles for control of the region. Its local rulers continued to hold authority over the town and surrounding country as the political balance changed.