The Taksin Shrine is a striking nine-sided pavilion on the north edge of town, built in the shape of a helmet from a medieval Thai warrior's armour. Inside, an over-life-sized bronze statue of King Taksin sits enthroned, surrounded by smaller statues of his four generals — Chao Phraya Chakri (who would later become Rama I and found the Chakri dynasty), Chao Phraya Phichai, and two others.
The shrine is a place of active veneration, with worshippers leaving flowers and gold leaf. It is also a useful place to learn the history of Taksin's brief, brilliant, and ultimately tragic reign — he was deposed and executed in 1782 after Bangkok's elites judged him to have lost his sanity. Free entrance.