The original Wat Chanthaburi was built contemporaneously with Wat Phia Wat in 1529 by the Chao Muang of Chanthaburi, one Chao Phra Nya Chanthaburi Sri Thammathailot. Destroyed during the Siamese invasion of 1828, the temple was reconstructed several times, most recently in 1900-1910. Between 1932 and 1936 a School of Arts was established here by Uparat Prince Phetsarath with a view to raising the standard of craftsmanship amongst the Buddhist sangha. Wat Chan is noteworthy for the carved wooden panels on the exterior of the sim and for its collossal 16th-century bronze seated Buddha image.