Angkor Wat in Cambodia - XII century temple
Location show on map
Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia
Date of build
1113 - 1150
- Other building names: Świątynia stolicy
- Building type: Temple complex, Hindu temple
- Architectural style: Hindu, Khmer architecture
- Material: Sandstone
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Height: 65.5 m - the central tower
- Area: 162.6 hectares (1 626 000 m²)
Angkor Wat is part of another Angkor Thom complex, covering an area of approximately 84 km².
Angkor Wat itself has the dimensions of a rectangle measuring 1,300 by 1,500 meters, the entire complex surrounds a wide moat at exactly 183 meters.
The largest religious complex in the world consists of 250 buildings, and its construction time is estimated to last from 30-35 years.
The main temple, 215 meters by 187 meters long, contains a 65-meter tower, symbolizing the mythical Meru mountain.
The complex is surrounded by a moat and a wall measuring 1,000 x 800 meters and having five towers.
In Angkor there was the capital of the Khmer rulers who received religious worship here.
It is supposed that around 1000 years Angkor with over one million inhabitants was the largest city in the world. About 50,000 workers worked on the construction of the complex, while sculptures and bas-reliefs were created by several thousand artists-craftsmen.
A tangle of corridors and terraces is covered with countless religious sculptures and reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu epic poems.
The building was built on the orders of King Sujarwarman II in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu. It fulfills the role of a sanctuary and a monument containing Sujarwarmana's ashes.
The admiration arouses the location and construction of the building, which proves a great understanding of the solid, space and artistic composition. The construction technique and style were quite primitive: the stone was used as if it had the characteristics of wood, arches and domes were not known. Still, the effect is awe-inspiring.
" From an archaeological point of view, Angkor is first and foremost a huge water system consisting of artificial canals, dikes and reservoirs, water from rivers and rainwater were stored there, and it was directed to rice fields, which were clearly divided into land books. This way the Khmer equated climate differences, achieved multiple harvests per year and increased their economic potential, which was the basis for their development. "- Bernard-Philippe Groslier
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