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Independence Monument (Cambodia)

AC with 0 elementsBuildings and structures completed in 1962Buildings and structures in Phnom PenhCambodian building and structure stubsMonuments and memorials in Cambodia
Tourist attractions in Phnom Penh
02 Independence Monument Phnom Penh nX 6
02 Independence Monument Phnom Penh nX 6

The Independence Monument (Khmer: វិមានឯករាជ្យ [ʋimiən ʔaekariəc]) in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, was built in 1958 to memorialise Cambodia's independence from France in 1953. It stands on the intersection of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard in the centre of the city. It is in the form of a lotus-shaped stupa, of the style seen at the Khmer temple at Banteay Srei and other Khmer historical sites. The Independence Monument was designed by the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, who was “personally selected and instructed” by Prince Norodom Sihanouk on how it should look like, combining “the religious and the secular.” It stands 37 metres tall.During national celebrations, the Independence Monument is the centre of activity. A ceremonial flame on the interior pedestal is often lit by a royal or high official on these occasions, and floral tributes line the stairs. Every year, the Independence Monument is visited by foreign tourists and locals alike. Behind the monument is the Norodom Sihanouk Memorial, constructed in 2013.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Independence Monument (Cambodia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Independence Monument (Cambodia)

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N 11.5564 ° E 104.9281 °
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Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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02 Independence Monument Phnom Penh nX 6
02 Independence Monument Phnom Penh nX 6
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White Building (Phnom Penh)

The White Building, originally known as the Municipal Apartments, was a large and prominent apartment building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of the buildings in the Bassac development. The White Building was on Samdach Sothearos Boulevard near the Bassac River, a large urban extension project built on reclaimed land in the early 1960s. The UN consultants Gérald Hanning and Vladimir Bodiansky introduced the concept of the building, a 450-metre (1,480 ft) architectural composition, directly inspired by previous AT.BAT designs built in Morocco. Lu Ban Hap, then Chief Architect of the Municipality of Phnom Penh, was responsible for the site supervision. The White Building was designed to house moderate-income tenants, and was adopted by many artists who found the innovative design appealing. With the nearby Grey Building, designed by Vann Molyvann, it was initially built for athletes in the 1964 GANEFO (Games of the non-aligned forces) international sports event. After years of neglect and deterioration since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the White Building was demolished in 2017. The building was composed of six blocks of concrete construction, three or four stories tall, connected by open bridge structures, along a double-loaded spine. It included stores and doctors' offices as well as 468 apartments.Tenants fled during the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s. After the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 the White Building was reoccupied by former tenants and squatters. It gradually declined and became known for poverty, drug use and prostitution. Its population in 2015 was about 2500.According to municipal authorities, the building was structurally deteriorating and unsafe. Tenants used the high-ceilinged rooms to add lofts, and balconies were enclosed, obscuring the once-white building's design and also adding weight to the structure. Cracking appeared in 2015 after construction on an adjoining lot. Several proposals have been made to tear it down for redevelopment. Eviction orders were issued in July 2015. However, the building's status as an iconic New Khmer building stimulated preservation efforts.In July 2017, the almost 500 families still living in the White Building were moving out; the building was to be replaced by a 21-storey mixed-use development.

Silver Pagoda
Silver Pagoda

The Silver Pagoda is located on the south side of the Royal Palace in Chey Chumneas, Phnom Penh. The official name is Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram (Khmer: វត្តឧបោសថរតនារាម), also known as Wat Preah Keo Morakot (Khmer: វត្តព្រះកែវមរកត, "Temple of the Emerald-Crystal Buddha") which is commonly shortened to Wat Preah Keo (Khmer: វត្តព្រះកែវ) in Khmer. The vihara houses many national treasures including many golds and jeweled Buddha statues. The most significant are a small green crystal Buddha (the "Emerald Buddha" of Cambodia — some sources maintain it was made of Baccarat Crystal in the 17th century but that's not possible since Baccarat Crystal didn't exist until the 18th century, and other sources indicate it was made in the 19th century by Lalique, a glass designer who lived in the 19th-20th century), and a life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha commissioned by King Sisowath, weighing 90 kg and dressed in royal regalia and set with 9584 diamonds, the largest of which weighing 25 carats, created in the palace workshops during 1906 and 1907. After the Cambodian Civil War the gold Maitreya Buddha lost most of its two-thousand diamonds. During King Norodom Sihanouk's pre-Khmer Rouge reign, the Silver Pagoda was inlaid with more than 5,329 silver tiles and some of its outer facades was remodeled with Italian marble. However, only a small area of these tiles are available to be viewed by the public on entering the pagoda. The wall that surrounds the structures is covered with murals of the Reamker painted in 1903-1904 by Cambodian artists directed by the architect of the Silver Pagoda Oknha Tep Nimit Mak. The legend of Preah Ko Preah Keo is also represented by two statues. It is a notable wat (Buddhist temple) in Phnom Penh; Its grounds being used for various national and royal ceremonies. The cremated remains of Norodom Sihanouk are interred in the stupa of Kantha Bopha located on the temple's compound.

Khmer Republic
Khmer Republic

The Khmer Republic (Khmer: សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, Sathéarônârôdth Khmêr; French: République khmère) was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état which saw the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk's government and the abolition of the Cambodian monarchy. The main cause of the coup was Norodom Sihanouk's tolerance of North Vietnamese military activity within Cambodia's borders; Vietnamese communist forces had gained de facto control over vast areas of eastern Cambodia as a result. Another important factor was the dire state of the Cambodian economy, an indirect result of Sihanouk's policies of pursuing neutrality. With the removal of Sihanouk, the existing Kingdom of Cambodia became a republic, officially removing Sisowath Kossamak. The character of the new regime was far-right and militaristic; most significantly, it ended Sihanouk's period of covert co-operation with the North Vietnamese regime and the Viet Cong, and aligned Cambodia with South Vietnam in the ongoing Second Indochina War. The Khmer Republic was opposed within the Cambodian borders by the National United Front of Kampuchea (Front uni national de Kampuchéa, FUNK), a relatively broad alliance between Sihanouk, his supporters, and the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The insurgency itself was conducted by the CPNLAF, the Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces: they were backed by both the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the National Liberation Front (NLF, better known as the Viet Cong), who occupied parts of Cambodia as part of their ongoing war with the South Vietnamese government. Despite the large quantities of military and financial aid from the United States, the Khmer National Armed Forces (Forces armées nationales khmères, or FANK) were poorly trained and unable to defeat either the CPNLAF or the Vietnamese forces of the PAVN and NLF. The Republic eventually fell on 17 April 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh and briefly restored the Kingdom of Cambodia before renaming itself Democratic Kampuchea on 5 January 1976.