Sukhothai
Sukhothai is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand.
It is located 427 kilometres north of Bangkok.
Neighboring provinces are Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, and Lampang.
Sukhothai, meaning the Dawn of Happiness, was a town founded between 1238 and 1257 by Phokhun Si Intharathit, it was the first truly independent Thai (Siamese) Kingdom after defeating the Khmers.
The province is most famous for the historic city of Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom. It is located about 12 km from the modern New Sukhothai city. Not far from Sukhothai are the Si Satchanalai historical park and the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. Both were cities within the former Sukhothai kingdom and of the same time period. Other interesting places include Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, Ramkhamhaeng National Park, Sri Satchanalai National Park, and The Royal Palace and Wat Mahathat.
The province was at first known as Sawankhalok. It was renamed to Sukhothai in 1939.
