Bang Kapi district

Bang Kapi

บางกะปิ
Bang Kapi บางกะปิ
Khet
	Thai Pavilion on the pool inside Ramkhamhaeng University
	Khet location in Bangkok
	Bang Kapi Location in Thailand
	Coordinates: 13°45′57″N 100°38′52″E / 13.76583°N 100.64778°E
Country	Thailand
Province	Bangkok
Seat	Khlong Chan
Khwaeng	2
Area
• Total	28.523 km2 (11.013 sq mi)
Population (2017)
• Total	147,800
• Density	5,181.78/km2 (13,420.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Postal code	10240; except Muban Seri: 10250
Geocode	1006

Bang Kapi (Thai: บางกะปิ, pronounced [bāːŋ kāpìʔ]) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other Bangkok districts (from north clockwise): Bueng Kum, Saphan Sung, Prawet, Suan Luang, Huai Khwang, Wang Thonglang, and Lat Phrao.

Name

The name Bang Kapi consists of two parts. Bang is a common prefix for place names in Thailand and roughly means a "hamlet by the waterfront".^[2] There are multiple theories as to the origin of kapi. The word kapi itself exists in Thai and means "shrimp paste", which is one possible origin. Another possibility is that it comes from kabi (กบิ/กบี่), a poetic word meaning "monkey", as the area used to be heavily forested and was home to many monkeys. Lastly, it could also come from kapiyoh (กะปิเยาะห์), the Thai word for a type of cap worn by Islamic men (taqiyah), as many Muslims settled in the area.^[3]

History

The area of Bang Kapi has a history dating back to Rama III's reign, when Chao Phraya Bodindecha (เจ้าพระยาบดินทรเดชา) led a troop to fight rebels in Champassack and Louangphabang and brought back people to settle.

As it grew into a larger town, Bang Kapi was made an amphoe (district) of Phra Nakhon province. The district was originally quite large, but has been divided since then to form new districts.

In 1966, Huay Khwang sub-district (tambon) and parts of the Bang Kapi sub-district were spun off to form Phaya Thai district.

In 1972, Phra Nakhon and Thonburi were joined as the single province, Bangkok. The title of districts and sub-districts in the capital city were changed from amphoe and tambon to khet and khwaeng, respectively. Bang Kapi became a district of the newly combined province, having at that time nine sub-districts.

In 1977, Sam Sen Nok sub-district was moved to Huai Khwang district.

In 1989, Lat Phrao district and Bueng Kum district were separated from Bang Kapi and became new districts.

On 14 October 1997, Wang Thonglang sub-district was elevated to a district, taking part of Khlong Chan sub-district with it.

Administration

The district is divided into two sub-districts (khwaeng).

No.	Name	Thai	Area (km²)
1.	Khlong Chan	คลองจั่น	12.062
8.	Hua Mak	หัวหมาก	16.461
Total			28.523

The missing numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 belong to the sub-districts which were split off to form Wang Thonglang, Lat Phrao and Bueng Kum districts.

District council

The District council for Bang Kapi has eight members, who each serve four-year terms. Elections were last held on 30 April 2006. The results were as follows: