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Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, where the city is also the cultural and economic center. Modern Phnom Penh was established from 1865, when King Norodom re-established the city, which had previously had the status of capital when it replaced Angkor Thom in the Khmer era. At that time, the capital was moved to Phnom Penh by the last king of the Khmer Empire, Ponhea Yat, marking the start of the post-Angkor era.
Phnom Penh was the capital from 1432 to 1505, after which the kings left the city until 1865. This was not least due to internal battles between heirs to the throne and kings, and therefore the country changed its capital quite a few times in the 360 years between Phnom Penh. With the re-establishment of Phnom Penh, the city became the seat of Cambodia’s government and the residence of the king. By 1863, the country had become a French protectorate, and the French colonial government developed Phnom Penh from a village on the Mekong into a modern capital.
In the following decades and during the French era in the 20th century, the infrastructure was expanded, and countless buildings were erected in the architectural trends of the time, such as art deco. Over the years, it was extended in a grand style, and this also happened with the use of traditional Cambodian style elements. You can thus see beautiful buildings such as the city’s central post office from the colonial era and public institutions such as the National Assembly and the Supreme Court in beautiful palace style.
Today you can take some lovely walks in central Phnom Penh, where there are promenades along the city’s rivers. In the center is the city’s royal palace, by the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers. There are always many locals and tourists here, and from here you can go to several of Phnom Penh’s attractions and large open park facilities. You can also go a little to the north to Wat Phnom, where you can see, among other things, a stupa with the remains of Ponhea Yat, and that completes the historical ring.
The Independence Monument is one of the most famous buildings in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. It is a large monument erected in 1958 to mark Cambodia’s independence, which the country achieved in 1953 after a period as a French colonial territory.
The monument stands in a roundabout between Norodom and Sihanouk boulevards. It was built as a lotus-shaped stupa in a style similar to various historical Khmer temples such as in Banteay Srei. The 37 meter high building was designed by Vann Molyvann, who was selected by Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
The Independence Monument stands in the western part of a park that extends to the area of the Mekong River to the east. You can take a walk in the park, where you can see, among other things, a memorial from 2013 for King Norodom Sihanouk in the form of a 4.5 meter high statue in a 27 meter high stupa.
Continuing east from the Norodom Sihanouk statue, one comes to a monument to the Cambodian monk Chuon Nath, who played a major role in the preservation of Khmer culture and language, and Chuon Nath was also a Buddhist leader in the country with the title of Supreme patriarch.
Cambodia’s National Museum is the country’s largest cultural history museum and a leading museum of archeology and history. The museum contains one of the world’s largest collections of Khmer art, and in the fine exhibitions you can see, among other things, sculptural art, Khmer ceramics, bronze works and ethnographic effects.
The museum’s vast collection includes thousands of objects ranging in time from prehistoric times to periods before, during, and after the Khmer Empire, which at its height stretched across parts of present-day Thailand, across Cambodia to southern Vietnam. The museum opened in 1920, and the museum buildings from 1917-1920 were built with inspiration from traditional Khmer architecture.
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is the official residence of the Cambodian king and thus the country’s head of state. The palace complex was built in the years 1866-1870, which happened after the transfer of the capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh. It happened on the initiative of King Norodom, and Cambodia’s monarchs have lived here since then, with the exception of a few years in connection with the Khmer Rouge takeover.
The Khmers ruled from Angkor from 802 to the 15th century, when they briefly moved the capital and government of the country to Phnom Penh. At the end of the 15th century, Basan became the capital and city of residence, and after several relocations it took until 1866 before Phnom Penh again became the monarch’s city. For this reason, there are no remains of the royal palace in Phnom Penh older than the present palace.
Norodom’s palace was built with a number of separate buildings, of which the throne room was the largest and finest. There were also two royal residence villas, located north and south of the throne room respectively. Pavilions were also erected for, among other things, music, dancing and other festivities, and these pavilions were located in the eastern area of the palace complex that was accessible to the public. There was a wall to the east and a moat to the west.
The original palace from the 1860s was demolished by the successor to the throne, King Sisowath, who rebuilt a new palace from 1912-1919. The beautiful Napoleon III Pavilion was preserved, however, and it stands today in a distinctly different architecture from the rest of the complex. Today, the pavilion is set up as a museum. In the publicly accessible part of the palace, you can also see the Khmer-style throne room, where Cambodia’s thrones stand.
Overall, the Royal Palace is a fine example of Khmer architecture with its layout featuring elements such as the defensive wall, the throne room, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, stupas, spires and murals. The complex is located on an area larger than 400×400 meters. To the south is the silver pagoda, in the center is the throne room, to the west is the king’s private area, while to the north are various palace buildings.
The Throne Room/Preah Tineang Tevea Vinnichay Mohai Moha Prasat (ព្រះទីនាំងទេវាវិនិច្ឆ័យមហ័យមហាប្រាសាទ) is still used for Royal Weddings and for e.g. meetings with the King. The 30×60 meter building was inaugurated in 1919 and is decorated with frescoes by Reamker, busts of kings and many other interesting things besides the thrones themselves. The building is topped by a spire that reaches a height of 59 meters.
The Moonlight Pavilion/Preah Tineang Chan Chhaya (ព្រះទីនាំងច័ន្ទឆាយា) is a large open pavilion that was built for performances of Khmer classical dances. The Napoleon III Pavillon was prefabricated in France, and one story goes that the building was produced as a villa from which the French empress Eugenie could oversee the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
In addition to this is the southern area with the Silver Pagoda/Wat Preah Keo (វត្តព្រះកែវ), which is considered to be an independent attraction and which is also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the king’s official residence area, the Khemarin Palace/Khemarin Moha Prasat (ខេមរិន្ត្រមហាប្រាសាទ). The Khemarin Palace is separated from the rest of the palace area by a small wall, and it is a private area for the monarch.
Wat Preah Keo is a temple complex in Phnom Penh, best known as the Silver Pagoda or by the facility’s official name, which is Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram/พลับตัวธลันที่ยายมมัว. Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram means the Temple of the Emerald Crystal Buddha, and this is because the temple’s best-known Buddha statue is Cambodia’s so-called emerald Buddha. The origin of the Buddha is not known with certainty.
The silver pagoda was originally built in wood in 1892. King Norodom was said to have been inspired by the temple complex Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok, Thailand, which also houses an emerald Buddha. The building was rebuilt in 1962 and was made of concrete and marble. The floor of the pagoda was covered with 5,000 silver tiles, each weighing one kilo.
In the temple you can see many beautiful highlights and there are quite a few Buddha figures here. In addition to the Emerald Buddha, you can also see the impressive Maitreya Buddha, which was produced in the royal workshops in 1906-1907 by order of King Sisowath. The Buddha was crafted in gold and set with 9,584 diamonds. However, a large part of the diamonds have disappeared in later battles.
The Silver Pagoda is the largest building in a walled complex that forms part of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. The wall surrounding the temple is covered with murals depicting the epic poem Reamker. The wall was painted at 642 meters in length and 3 meters in height in 1903-1904 by Cambodian artists who were instructed by the temple’s architect, Oknha Tep Nimit.
The temple area is used for various ceremonies, and you can also see various things in the temple courtyard between the walls. Here, for example, there is a fine model of the world-famous Cambodian temple Angkor Wat, and you can also see several stupas for, among others, King Ang Duong, King Norodom Suramarit and Princess Katha Bopha.
Wat Phnom is a Buddhist temple famous for its pagoda that symbolizes the name Phnom Penh. The pagoda’s name means the mountain pagoda, and this is because it is located on a hilltop high above the city. It was named after Penh, which is also called Daun Penh. Penh was a wealthy woman who, according to tradition, founded Phnom Penh in 1372. The pagoda is today part of the Khmer national identity.
Legend has it that Penh lived on a small hill near the banks of the confluence of four rivers. One day, Penh went down to the harbor to take a bath and saw a floating Koki tree. She and the villagers took a piece of wood to scrape the mud off the collected, and in the hole of the Koki tree were four Buddha statues made of bronze, brass and marble. There was also a Vishnu statue with hands holding a staff, a chain, a conch and a lotus flower. Penh asked the villagers to build an artificial hill and build a small wooden temple on top of the hill to house the statues. Monks blessed the statues and the monks named the place Wat Phnom.
The shrine itself was rebuilt several times in the 19th century and again in 1926. The interior has a central altar complex with a large bronze seated Buddha surrounded by other statues. The walls are covered with murals, especially of Jataka stories about the Buddha’s previous reincarnations before his attainment of enlightenment. There are also murals depicting stories from the Reamker, which is the Khmer version of the Ramayana.
The southwest corner of Wat Phnom, the temple’s stupa forms a small shrine dedicated to Penh. This part is often well visited with believers bringing their prayers and offerings to the woman who is considered the founder of the temple complex. In Wat Phnom, you can also notice the stupa that was built for King Ponhea Yat, who moved the capital to Phnom Penh in 1397.
Psar Thmei is Phnom Penh’s central market, located in the heart of the Cambodian capital. It was built and opened as a result of the French ambitions to develop Phnom Penh into a modern metropolis in light of the great population growth of the time. On the market, there are still countless small stalls and shops with various foods and many other articles.
The market building is exciting in itself, as it stands as a large architectural monument from the Art Deco era. Psar Thmei was built in 1937 with a 26 meter high dome with building wings in four directions. The original design was by Jean Desbois, and King Sisowath Monivong inaugurated the grand building.
Wat Ounalom is a temple and monastery in Phnom Penh, located close to the Tonle Sap River in the center of the city. The temple is the seat of the Mohanikay branch of Cambodian Buddhism and thus the country’s most important temple. Wat Ounalom was founded in 1443 during the reign of Ponhea Yat, and today it consists of a large number of temple and monastery buildings in the densely built-up area.
The temple has special significance as the main part of the complex contains a stupa said to contain a hair from one of the Buddha’s eyebrows. It is also from here that the name Wat Ounalom is derived. The stupa is different from other stupas in Cambodia because it has five peaks. Monks decorated the walls with golden paint, inside the stupa there are four Buddha statues placed in the corners and a large Buddha in the middle.
The central post office in Phnom Penh is a beautiful building that was built during the French colonial period in 1895. The post office was designed by the French architect and urban planner Daniel Fabre and built on a small square that was built up with buildings from the same period. The triangular square was named Place de la Poste, and there was originally a garden in front of the post office.
The central post office has Roman arched windows, columns with Corinthian capitals, balconies with balustrades and columns, pediments and sculptural decorations. It all stands in a beautifully designed style of neoclassical architecture in a Southeast Asian version. The building has been a post office since 1895, and it is still used by the Cambodian postal service.
You can of course see the beautiful post office, but you should also take the time to take a walk in the square in front of the building and in the neighborhood, where there is a fine collection of buildings from colonial Phnom Penh. You can also walk a few blocks south to the long park that in French times connected the city’s railway station with the Tonle Sap River. Today, Phnom Penh’s famous Night Market is located on this site.
Hotel Le Royal is a hotel that opened in Phnom Penh in 1929. The old hotel is today one of the most famous and iconic buildings from colonial Phnom Penh. Hotel Le Royal was opened as a fine hotel with an impressive facade and an elegant interior that suited the wealthy of the day.
Over time, many famous people have stayed overnight at Hotel Le Royal. This concerns, for example, Jacqueline Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin. Today, Hotel Le Royal is still decorated as a luxury hotel, and when it reopened in 1997, the stylish hotel was significantly expanded with new wings, which fortunately was respected in the renovation, so that the charm of the interior and exterior of the main building was preserved .
Incidentally, Hotel Le Royal was built in the heart of the French administrative quarter in colonial Phnom Penh, and therefore you can advantageously walk around the area and enjoy the view of some of the large public buildings of the time. There are several examples along Daun Penh Avenue, which in French times was called Avenue Marechal Joffre. Today, several of these buildings are used by Cambodian ministries.
Phnom Penh Railway Station is one of the capital’s well-known buildings from the French colonial era. The railway station was built in the art deco style of the time in 1932 in connection with the opening of the railway to the northwest to, among other things, the city of Battambang. Today, the building has been restored, and you can take the train to both Cambodian cities and to the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The railway station in Phnom Penh is of course known as a railway terminal, but it has also entered the country’s history books in other ways. It happened 28-30. September 1960, when 22 leaders from the Cambodian People’s Party met here and transformed the party into the Workers’ Party of Kampuchea, probably better known as Pol Pot’s party, which later took power in Cambodia.
The National Assembly of Cambodia is one of the country’s two chambers of parliament. The Assembly forms the Lower House, while the Senate forms the Upper House. After a period of internal tension and civil war, the National Assembly was reopened in 1993.
Since 2007, the National Assembly has had its seat in a newly constructed building for the purpose. It was built in a modern version of traditional palace buildings, a style also seen in other great public buildings of the time. The Senate is housed in a modern building in the area southwest of the National Assembly.
Cambodia’s Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. The current Supreme Court was established in 1994 after a period of internal unrest and fighting in the country, which subsequently necessitated the reconstruction of several of the country’s public institutions.
The Supreme Court building is worth seeing, and in terms of style it draws inspiration from the Khmer era and traditional palace buildings. It was in this place that the national assembly was already located during the French colonial period, and at that time there were several important institutions in the neighborhood such as Phnom Penh’s Buddhist Institute.
Oudong is a city located in the area northwest of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. Oudong was the city from which King Norodom moved the capital in 1866, when he chose Phnom Penh as his new city of residence. At that time, Oudong had been the country’s capital since 1618 and thereby for the next 250 years. The city was founded by King Srei Soryapor in 1601 in the aftermath of the Thai invasion to which the Khmer would not submit. Therefore, Srei Soryapor moved the capital from Longvek to Oudong.
There was great development in Oudong in the mid-1800s, when King Ang Duong developed the city with canals, bridges and many pagodas. Today, Oudong is a popular excursion destination due to its historical background as the capital in the post-Angkor era and as a former center for trade, culture, religion and the country’s political life.
The attractions are concentrated on and near the mountain Phnom Oudong, where many archaeological finds have been made over time. Since the city and the mountain were the country’s long-term residence, you can see 16 stupas with former kings and the royal family from the Pudong period. 13 of these stand on Phnom Oudong, while the last 3 stand at the foot of the mountain.
The Killing Fields is the name of a number of places in Cambodia where many Cambodians were killed and buried during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, which lasted from 1975 to 1979. The Khmer Rouge had come to power after the end of the civil war that ravaged the country from 1970, and their rule was brought to an end, the neighboring Vietnam invaded Cambodia and deposed the then government.
There are several places in the country where you can see memorials and landscape remains from the burials, and one of them is Choeung Ek (สัววัว), located on the southern outskirts of Phnom Penh. Choeung Ek was formerly an orchard, but was used for burials and thereby became part of the so-called Killing Fields.
Today, Choeung Ek is laid out as a memorial marked by a Buddhist stupa that typically contains the remains of one or more individuals. The stupa in Choeung Ek has acrylic glass sides and is filled with over 5,000 human skulls. You can also see the remains in the landscape of the many burials that were made here.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Overview of Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, where the city is also the cultural and economic center. Modern Phnom Penh was established from 1865, when King Norodom re-established the city, which had previously had the status of capital when it replaced Angkor Thom in the Khmer era. At that time, the capital was moved to Phnom Penh by the last king of the Khmer Empire, Ponhea Yat, marking the start of the post-Angkor era.
Phnom Penh was the capital from 1432 to 1505, after which the kings left the city until 1865. This was not least due to internal battles between heirs to the throne and kings, and therefore the country changed its capital quite a few times in the 360 years between Phnom Penh. With the re-establishment of Phnom Penh, the city became the seat of Cambodia’s government and the residence of the king. By 1863, the country had become a French protectorate, and the French colonial government developed Phnom Penh from a village on the Mekong into a modern capital.
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Psar Thmei is Phnom Penh’s central market, located in the heart of the Cambodian capital. It was built and opened as a result of the French ambitions to develop Phnom Penh into a modern metropolis in light of the great population growth of the time. On the market, there are still countless small stalls and shops with various foods and many other articles.
The market building is exciting in itself, as it stands as a large architectural monument from the Art Deco era. Psar Thmei was built in 1937 with a 26 meter high dome with building wings in four directions. The original design was by Jean Desbois, and King Sisowath Monivong inaugurated the grand building.
Wat Ounalom is a temple and monastery in Phnom Penh, located close to the Tonle Sap River in the center of the city. The temple is the seat of the Mohanikay branch of Cambodian Buddhism and thus the country’s most important temple. Wat Ounalom was founded in 1443 during the reign of Ponhea Yat, and today it consists of a large number of temple and monastery buildings in the densely built-up area.
The temple has special significance as the main part of the complex contains a stupa said to contain a hair from one of the Buddha’s eyebrows. It is also from here that the name Wat Ounalom is derived. The stupa is different from other stupas in Cambodia because it has five peaks. Monks decorated the walls with golden paint, inside the stupa there are four Buddha statues placed in the corners and a large Buddha in the middle.
The central post office in Phnom Penh is a beautiful building that was built during the French colonial period in 1895. The post office was designed by the French architect and urban planner Daniel Fabre and built on a small square that was built up with buildings from the same period. The triangular square was named Place de la Poste, and there was originally a garden in front of the post office.
The central post office has Roman arched windows, columns with Corinthian capitals, balconies with balustrades and columns, pediments and sculptural decorations. It all stands in a beautifully designed style of neoclassical architecture in a Southeast Asian version. The building has been a post office since 1895, and it is still used by the Cambodian postal service.
You can of course see the beautiful post office, but you should also take the time to take a walk in the square in front of the building and in the neighborhood, where there is a fine collection of buildings from colonial Phnom Penh. You can also walk a few blocks south to the long park that in French times connected the city’s railway station with the Tonle Sap River. Today, Phnom Penh’s famous Night Market is located on this site.
Hotel Le Royal is a hotel that opened in Phnom Penh in 1929. The old hotel is today one of the most famous and iconic buildings from colonial Phnom Penh. Hotel Le Royal was opened as a fine hotel with an impressive facade and an elegant interior that suited the wealthy of the day.
Over time, many famous people have stayed overnight at Hotel Le Royal. This concerns, for example, Jacqueline Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin. Today, Hotel Le Royal is still decorated as a luxury hotel, and when it reopened in 1997, the stylish hotel was significantly expanded with new wings, which fortunately was respected in the renovation, so that the charm of the interior and exterior of the main building was preserved .
Incidentally, Hotel Le Royal was built in the heart of the French administrative quarter in colonial Phnom Penh, and therefore you can advantageously walk around the area and enjoy the view of some of the large public buildings of the time. There are several examples along Daun Penh Avenue, which in French times was called Avenue Marechal Joffre. Today, several of these buildings are used by Cambodian ministries.
Phnom Penh Railway Station is one of the capital’s well-known buildings from the French colonial era. The railway station was built in the art deco style of the time in 1932 in connection with the opening of the railway to the northwest to, among other things, the city of Battambang. Today, the building has been restored, and you can take the train to both Cambodian cities and to the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The railway station in Phnom Penh is of course known as a railway terminal, but it has also entered the country’s history books in other ways. It happened 28-30. September 1960, when 22 leaders from the Cambodian People’s Party met here and transformed the party into the Workers’ Party of Kampuchea, probably better known as Pol Pot’s party, which later took power in Cambodia.
The National Assembly of Cambodia is one of the country’s two chambers of parliament. The Assembly forms the Lower House, while the Senate forms the Upper House. After a period of internal tension and civil war, the National Assembly was reopened in 1993.
Since 2007, the National Assembly has had its seat in a newly constructed building for the purpose. It was built in a modern version of traditional palace buildings, a style also seen in other great public buildings of the time. The Senate is housed in a modern building in the area southwest of the National Assembly.
Cambodia’s Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. The current Supreme Court was established in 1994 after a period of internal unrest and fighting in the country, which subsequently necessitated the reconstruction of several of the country’s public institutions.
The Supreme Court building is worth seeing, and in terms of style it draws inspiration from the Khmer era and traditional palace buildings. It was in this place that the national assembly was already located during the French colonial period, and at that time there were several important institutions in the neighborhood such as Phnom Penh’s Buddhist Institute.
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