Hariphunchai National Museum

Hariphunchai National Museum is a national museum in Nai Mueang, Mueang Lamphun, Lamphun Province, located opposite Wat Phra That Hariphunchai in the old city centre. It preserves and displays artefacts from the Dvaravati, Hariphunchai and Lanna periods, including Buddha images, stone inscriptions, ceramics and architectural fragments. Housed in a historic 1927 building and a modern exhibition hall, it documents the history of the Hariphunchai Kingdom and northern Thai Buddhist art.

Visitors can expect a compact, two-building museum in the historic centre of Lamphun. The older building displays stone sculptures, stucco fragments and Buddha images, while the newer hall presents chronological exhibits from prehistory to the Lanna period, including Dvaravati and Hariphunchai artefacts, inscribed stones, ceramics and wooden carvings. The setting is quiet and educational, with labelled displays, information panels and a courtyard, located within walking distance of Wat Phra That Hariphunchai.

The museum preserves the heritage of the Hariphunchai Kingdom, a Mon kingdom founded in the 8th-9th century by Queen Chamadevi and centred at Lamphun, which flourished until the late 13th century before incorporation into the Lanna Kingdom. The main museum building was constructed in 1927 as Lamphun City Hall and was converted into a museum under the Fine Arts Department, officially opening as Hariphunchai National Museum in 1974 to house archaeological finds from Lamphun and northern Thailand.

The museum is a centre for the study and display of northern Thai Buddhist art, particularly Hariphunchai and Lanna styles. Its collections illustrate the development of Theravada Buddhism, Mon cultural influence and regional artistic traditions through Buddha images, stucco, sculpture and inscriptions, serving as an educational resource for the history of Lamphun as one of Thailand's oldest cities.