Chaktomuk
The area around Phnom Penh has been inhabited for at least 2000 years, probably much longer. The area enters the historical record in the 15th century AD when it was known as Chaktomuk - the 'Four Faces' - so called for its location at the four-branched confluence of the Mekong River - a riverine crossroads in the heart of Cambodia, the Tonle Sap running to the agricultural heartland and the Angkorian capital, and the Mekong River north to Laos and south to the open sea. Phnom Penh is before all else the city at Chaktomuk. The first record of the name 'Phnom Penh' comes in the telling of the legend of Lady Penh.
Legend
Legend has it that around 1371 old Lady Penh (Duan Penh) was out gathering firewood along the riverside when she fished a floating koki tree from the water. Inside the tree were four Buddha statues and one of Vishnu (the numbers vary.) The discovery was taken as a divine blessing, and to some a sign that the Khmer capital was to be brought to Phnom Penh. Lady Penh raised a small hill with a shrine to house the statues at the site of what is now Wat Phnom ('phnom' is Khmer for 'hill.') The hill later took on the name of the founder, Lady Penh, and the area around it became known after the name of the hill - Phnom Penh.
History
Cambodia is the land of the Khmer, stretching from the present into prehistory. The Angkorian era Khmer Empire dominated the region from the 9th century AD. Centered near Siem Reap, the Empire at its apex stretched across most of mainland Southeast Asia. But by the 15th century the Empire was in political and territorial decline and under challenge from Ayudhaya in the west, which was staging regular incursions, culminating with the sack of Angkor in 1431-32. Shortly thereafter the court of King Pohea Yat left the Angkorian capital and established a new Khmer capital at Phnom Penh, which first appears in the historical record at the time. In addition to the other considerations, the choice of Phnom Penh likely reflected a tectonic economic shift from the traditional Angkorian agrarian economy based in the interior to a trade/commerce oriented economy based in a riverine town. King Pohea Yat set the foundations of Phnom Penh, establishing several wats and laying out the town along moats/rivers which approximate modern central Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh
Trade with China was established in the Angkorian era and those arriving by river would pass Chaktomuk (Phnom Penh) on their way to Angkor. Even before the Khmer capital moved to Phnom Penh, the area was probably an active settlement, perhaps receiving foreign traders. After the move, the city remained the capital only briefly, the King moving to Longvek before the century was out, but Phnom Penh remained a hub of commerce. 16th century records paint a picture of highly cosmopolitan town with a large population of Chinese, Malay, Cham, Japanese and even some Europeans. Arriving in the early 16th century, the Portuguese and Spanish were the first Europeans to make contact, establishing trade and eventually becoming deeply involved in Cambodian affairs, culminating in the 1599 massacre of Spaniards in Phnom Penh. In the 17th century, Phnom Penh continued to prosper and the Dutch East India Company became the dominant European trader, but this relationship also ended in tears, climaxing at the 1644 Battle of Phnom Penh between the Company and Cambodia. Afterward, European contact waned until the French arrived in the 19th century with colonial aims.
The 19th Century
The capital did not return to Phnom Penh until the 19th century under King Ang Chan. In 1813 he built the palace Banteay Kev which was burned in 1834 when the retreating Siamese army looted and razed the city. The capital subsequently moved back to Oudong. It was not until the arrival of the French 1860s that it returned again. At the time Phnom Penh had a population of about 10,000 including a large Chinese sector as well as many other foreigners. It was a cosmopolitan city of floating villages, stilted wooden houses and shops strung along a single road paralleling the river. Late 19th century western travelers called Phnom Penh the "great bazaar."
Under King Norodom, the Protectorate agreement was signed in 1863 and, with French encouragement, the seat of government moved to Phnom Penh in 1866. The first modern stone structure to be built was the Royal Palace, opening in 1870. Soon thereafter the first stone 'Chinese shophouses' were constructed, appearing initially along the riverside. After a series of fires capped by the Great Fire of May 1894, stone became the standard for new buildings. The 1890s saw an expanding population (50,000) and accelerated development - draining of wetlands, the construction of canals and bridges, the Grand Rue along the river expanded and several colonial structures added including the Post Office and Treasury Building which still exist today. The city stretched from the French Quarter just north of Wat Phnom south to Sihanouk Blvd, all within a few hundred meters of the river.
The 20th Century...
France continued to control Cambodia for most of the first half of the 20th century. Many classic colonial buildings were constructed including villas, the Police Station (next to the Post Office,) the Hotel Le Royal and the National Museum. By the 1930s the canals had been filled and turned into garden boulevards, now parks along Sihanouk Blvd and between Streets 108/106. As the population grew (109,000 in 1939) the city continued to expand, mostly westward. More wetlands were drained. In 1935 the Boeung Deco lake was filled and the distinctive domed Art Deco 'Central Market' (Phsar Thmey) was built on the new land, known as the ‘Grand Market' when it was opened in 1937. That same year the cyclopousse, the bicycle rickshaw that has become known the ‘cyclo,’ was introduced in the city. Phnom Penh was reputed to be the most beautiful city in French Indochina.
Independence from France came in 1954 issuing in a period of considerable urban and commercial development and the beginning of the distinctive 'New Khmer Architecture,' reflected in structures such as the Independence Monument and Chaktomuk Theatre. Factories, roads, apartments, markets, power plants and hundreds of Chinese shophouses were built. This period came to an abrupt end with the coup of 1970 and Cambodia's descent into war between the government and the communist Khmer Rouge (KR.) By 1973, Phnom Penh was swollen with refugees and in 1974 the city was laid siege and eventually cut off, falling April 17, 1975. Three days later the Khmer Rouge ordered the total evacuation of the city, leading to thousands of deaths. Though some workers and KR remained in Phnom Penh, the city was essentially a ghost town until the Khmer Rouge fled in January 1979, leaving behind evidence of their horrors such as the S-21 facility now known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
When the people returned the city was a shambles, largely intact but thoroughly looted and uncared for. As low level war with the KR continued in the western provinces, the 1980s saw Phnom Penh repopulated and to some degree revitalized. The population grew from 100,000 at the end of 1979 to 615,000 in 1990. In 1991 UNTAC arrived for 2 years as part of a UN brokered peace agreement leading to national elections in 1993. Suddenly Cambodia was open for business. And after years of being off the tourist map, Cambodia quickly became a new adventure destination. The city saw the beginning of a period of economic and urban development that has continued and accelerated to this day. There was a flurry of new construction in the 1990's including most of the distinctive 'wedding cake villas.' The 2000's have seen another boom in development including significant infrastructure improvement and, very recently, the first high rise structures, giving considerable change to the skyline and architectural character of the city.
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