Baphuon was originally a state-temple mountain dedicated to Shiva when it was built in the 11th century (around 1060). During the 16th century an immense statue of reclining Buddha was erected on his western face when the temple was converted to Buddhism. This enormous monument had been almost entirely dismantled. The works of restoration started in 1995 and ended in 2011. Baphuon is famous for its narrative bas-reliefs with scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as well as from life of Krishna.
This magnificent temple was built by King Udayadityavarman II in the middle of the 11th century, before the city of Angkor Thom was established. Originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the late 15th Century, and a huge reclining Buddha (nine meters tall by 70 meters long) was added to the west side of the temple’s second level around this time.
Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Baphuon was built on a too-soft foundation of sandy soil which proved to be inadequate for such an immense structure. This shaky foundation caused the temple to be unstable for most of its history, and it is very likely that large portions had already collapsed by the time it was converted to a Buddhist temple. The stones from the collapsed portion of the structure were utilized in the creation of the reclining Buddha, which is one of the largest in Southeast Asia.
By the early 20th century, Baphuon was on the verge of complete collapse. A massive restoration project began in the 1960s, which involved dismantling the temple stone by stone, reinforcing the foundation, and then re-assembling the structure. 300,000 blocks of stone were labelled and numbered, and carefully arranged in the 10 hectares surrounding the temple site, waiting to be put back together. Unfortunately, the project was abandoned when civil war broke out in 1970, and the plans identifying the stones’ intended location were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.
A second restoration project, which came to be known as the largest three dimensional jigsaw puzzle in the world, was launched in 1996 under the guidance of the architect Pascal Royère. Modern technology greatly aided in the process, but it still took 16 years to complete the puzzle. The lighter colored stones are the restored pieces. We are truly fortunate to be able to visit this remarkable site, and owe a debt of gratitude to the hundreds of workers responsible for reconstructing this magnificent temple.
11th century
Baphuon
7:30 am to 5:30 pm Warning, for safety reasons, access to the top of the pyramid is not allowed to children under 12 years old and to pregnant women.
Udayadityavarman II
Hindu
1 hour
មូលនិធិប្រាសាទពិភពលោក(World Monument Fund) របស់សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកក្រោមកិច្ចសហប្រតិបត្តិការជាមួយអាជ្ញាធរជាតិអប្សរា កំពុងបន្តជួសជុលជណ្ដើរ និងជញ្ជាំងផ្នែកខាងត្បូងរបស់ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាខែងបន្ថែមទៀត បន្ទាប់ពីបានបញ្ចប់ការជួសជុលរចនាសម្ពន្ធជណ្តើរ និងជញ្ជាំងផ្នែកខាងកើត និងខាងជើងរួចរាល់មក។
