History

King Rama I founded Kanchanaburi in the 1800s as a fortress on the traditional Burmese invasion route through the Three Pagodas Pass. The present provincial capital, situated at the confluence of the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai Rivers, is a relatively new town founded by King Rama III in 1833, about 18 km from the original fortress.

In the Second World War, Kanchanaburi became a base of operations for the Japanese in their bid to invade Burma and British India. Some 60,000 Allied prisoners of war and 300,000 Asian laborers were pressed into service on the infamous Death Railway. The 414-km Thailand-Burma railroad, built during 1942-43, followed a winding path along the Khwae Noi River valley, linking Nong Pladuk in Thailand with Thanbyuzayat in Burma. The railway was designed to act as a westwards supply route, bypassing Allied-controlled shipping lanes.

The railway passed through mountainous, jungle terrain that required deep rock cuttings, long bridges and supporting structures. Many thousands of prisoners and coolies died during the construction, the result of malnutrition, exhaustion, disease and brutal treatment by their captors. It is said that one man died for each railway sleeper laid. Many of the dead prisoners of war were interred in two large cemeteries near Kanchanaburi town, while countless Asian laborers were buried where they fell.

The Death Railway was in use for only 20 months before being bombed by Allied forces. After the war, the railway fell into disrepair and today little remains of it.

The story of the Death Railway was immortalized in the famous novel "Bridge Over the River Kwai" by Pierre Boulle, and the David Lean movie of the same name. Every year, the bombing of the bridge is commemorated in a spectacular light-and-sound show, held at night-time at the present bridge. The spectacular is held during the first two weeks of December every year and attracts thousands of tourists from overseas and Thailand.

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