It is the memorial to chao Kavila, the great northern warlord who repossessed Chiang Mai from the Burmese in 1776, and who subsequently rebuilt and restored the city on behalf of the Chakri dynasty.
In 1774, five years after the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese invaders, chao Kavila, Lord of Lampang, joined King Taksin in his campaign against the Burmese in the north. By 1776 Chiang Mai had been liberated, but was too ravaged and depopulated to function as the Lanna capital. Accordingly, for twenty years Kavila ruled the north from Lampang, firstly on behalf of Taksin, and then the Chakri monarchy, until the re-establishment of Chiang Mai as the northern capital in 1796.
For visitors to Chiang Mai, other reminders of the great ruler are plentiful. The city rejoices in a Kavila Memorial Hospital, a Kavila School, the extensive Kavila Barracks, and of course the Anusawari Kavila, or Kavila Memorial. All are located on the east bank of the River Ping, in the area between Sanpakhoi and the Railway Station.
