Wat Phnom (Wat Phnom Daun Penh) - Phnom Penh (Capital)
Wat Phnom, the namesake and symbol of
the capital city of Phnom Penh, sets prominently atop an artificial 27
meter hill (or 'Phnom') in the northeastern section of the city. Legend
has it that Daun Penh, a wealthy widow, retrieved a large koki tree
trunk from the river. She had hoped to use it for a house, but inside a
hollow of the trunk, she found four statues of the Buddha. She then
ordered for a section of her property to be elevated for a small shrine
to be erected to revere the statues. This became a sacred site and
people started to settle around the hill; eventually, this became the
city it now is. It is here that the city gets its name: ‘Phnom’ means
hill in Khmer and ‘Penh’ is of course the name of the lady.
Later, King Ponhea Yat (1393-1463),
built the sanctuary (Vihear) here when he moved his capital from Angkor
to Phnom Penh in 1422. The prominent stupa immediately west of the
sanctuary or vihara (vihear) contains the ashes of the late king.
The sanctuary itself has been renovated
frequently. There are numerous other shrines and other activities on or
at the base of the hill. There are gardens that the French laid out in
the late nineteenth century and shrines that reflect Taoist, Confucian,
Hindu beliefs and one especially of Vietnamese interests reflected in
the shrine to Preah Chau.
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