{{Infobox settlement <!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage--> <!-- Basic info ----------------> |official_name = Makkasan |native_name = มักกะสัน |settlement_type = [[Khwaeng]] | coordinates = |motto = | image_map = {{#property:P242}} | map_caption = Location in [[Ratchathewi District]] <!-- Location ------------------> |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name ={{flag|Thailand}} |subdivision_type2 = [[Provinces of Thailand|Province]] |subdivision_name2 = [[Bangkok]] |subdivision_type3 = [[Amphoe|Khet]] |subdivision_name3 = [[Ratchathewi District|Ratchathewi]] <!-- Politics -----------------> |established_title = |established_date = <!-- Area ---------------------> |area_total_km2 = 2.283 |area_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://webportal.bangkok.go.th/upload/user/00000130/BMA_STATISTICS%202563/ebook%2063.pdf|script-title=th:สถิติกรุงเทพมหานครประจำปี 2563|trans-title=Bangkok Statistics 2020|author=Administrative Strategy Division, Strategy and Evaluation Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration|date=2021|access-date=27 November 2021|lang=th|archive-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930084153/https://webportal.bangkok.go.th/upload/user/00000130/BMA_STATISTICS%202563/ebook%2063.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> |area_water_km2 = <!-- Population -----------------------> |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total = 15815 |population_density_km2 = <!-- General information ---------------> |timezone = [[Indochina Time|ICT]] |utc_offset = +7 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = <!-- Area/postal codes & others --------> |postal_code_type = Postal code |postal_code = {{#property:P281}} |area_code = |blank_name = [[TIS 1099]] |blank_info = {{#property:P1067}} |website = |footnotes = |image_skyline = Highway interchange at night (35517755855) (cropped).jpg |caption = Makkasan Interchange in the Makkasan neighbourhood at night }} '''Makkasan''' ({{langx|th|มักกะสัน}}, {{IPA|th|mák.kā.sǎn|pron}}) is the name of an intersection and the surrounding neighbourhood in [[Bangkok]]'s [[Ratchathewi district]]. It is one of the ''[[khwaeng]]s'' (sub-districts) of Bangkok.
==Name==
Makkasan is named after the [[Makassar people]], the Muslims who fled the [[South Sulawesi expeditions of 1905|Dutch attack in 1905]] to Bangkok and were permitted by King [[Chulalongkorn]] to settle around the east of Bangkok.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/culture/article_127884|title=“ชุมชนมักกะสัน” ในกรุงเทพฯ เกี่ยวอะไรกับชาวบูกิสแห่งอินโดนีเซีย?|language=th|date=2026-03-21|author=สุทธาสินี จิตรกรรมไทย เจียจันทร์พงษ์|website=Arts & Culture Magazine|publisher=[[Matichon]]|location=Bangkok}}</ref>
==Intersections== Makkasan Intersection is divided into two closely located intersections. One is the meeting point of Ratchaprarop Road, Chaturathit Road, [[Si Ayutthaya Road]], and [[Soi]] Ratchaprarop 10 or [[Soi Mo Leng]], and is known variously as Makkasan, Mo Leng or Ratchaprarop Intersection. The other is the intersection of Ratchaprarop Road and Nikhom Makkasan Road, named Nikhom Makkasan intersection. The area is considered one of the most prone to traffic jams in Bangkok, especially during [[rush hour]].<ref>{{cite web|title=เย็นวันพุธ 'แยกมักกะสัน'รถมากเคลื่อนตัวช้า การจราจรติดขัด แนะเช็กเส้นทาง|url=https://www.thairath.co.th/content/495992|date=2015-04-29|language=thai|work=[[Thairath]]}}</ref> Makkasan is not far from major shopping districts and Bangkok's traffic centers, such as [[Pratunam]] or [[Victory Monument (Bangkok)|Victory Monument]].
==Incidents==
===Makkasan black panther=== Around mid-1981, the Makkasan became widely known after reports emerged of a [[Black panther#Leopard|black panther]] roaming and causing disturbances in the area surrounding the Makkasan Workshop of the [[State Railway of Thailand]] (SRT), an overgrown and abandoned area covering more than 500 [[rai (unit)|rai]] (197 [[acre]]), filled with dense vegetation and water sources, making it an ideal hiding place for wildlife. The incident raised a mystery as to how such a large wild animal could end up in the heart of Bangkok, and it caused widespread fear among the public. The animal became known as the "Makkasan Black Panther" (เสือดำมักกะสัน). Authorities spent as long as 46 days tracking the animal before finally capturing it and releasing it into [[Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary]].
Amid the buzz, rumors surfaced about two years later suggesting that the panther had actually been deliberately released for certain political purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thaipbs.or.th/program/TruthNeverDies/episodes/72709|work=Thai PBS|accessdate=2026-04-26|date=2023-09-30|language=thai|title=เสือดำมักกะสัน}}</ref>
===2026 train collision=== {{main|2026 Bangkok train collision}}
At 3:35 PM on Saturday, 16 May 2026, a freight train collided with a [[Bangkok Mass Transit Authority]] (BMTA) air-conditioned bus, route 3-30 (206), at a [[railway crossing]] near Makkasan Station. The accident resulted in 8 fatalities and 35 injuries, becoming one of the most serious [[List of rail accidents in Thailand|railway accidents in Thailand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/05/17/train-collides-with-bus-at-bangkok-rail-crossing-killing-at-least-8/|title=Train collides with bus at Bangkok rail crossing, killing at least 8|date=2025-05-17|accessdate=2025-05-18|work=1news}}</ref>
==Places== *[[Tourism Authority of Thailand]] (TAT) *[[Bangkok Doll Museum]] *Soi Ratchataphan (also known as [[Soi Mo Leng]])
== References == {{reflist}}
{{coord|13|45|21.57|N|100|32|32.64|E|display=title}} [[Category:Neighbourhoods of Bangkok]] [[Category:Ratchathewi district]] [[Category:Road junctions in Bangkok]] [[Category:Subdistricts of Bangkok]]