Heritage site
Banteay Prei Nokor
Banteay Prei Nokor (បន្ទាយព្រៃនគរ, Banteay Prei Nokor) is a temple complex of sandstone and laterite near Kampong Cham city, Cambodia.[1] It stands beside National Road 7, less than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north-west of the city.[2] It is also called Wat Nokor, and local people sometimes call it Wat Angkor.[1] The temple itself, Prasat Nokor Bachey (ប្រាសាទនគរបាជ័យ), stands in Ampil commune on the edge of Kampong Cham city.[3]
History
Accounts of the temple's age differ, and estimates run from the 10th to the 12th century.[4] One gives the 11th century and the reign of King Suryavarman II for its core.[5] Another says it was finished under King Jayavarman VII, though whether he ruled from here is unclear.[4] Cambodianess writes that the exact dates are unknown, but that it was probably built under Suryavarman II (1113 to 1150), at the same time as Angkor Wat, in honor of Vishnu.[2] An earlier reading, reported by Hello Angkor, had it begun in the 10th century as a Buddhist temple, turned to Brahmanic worship and later returned to Buddhism.[3]
Theravada Buddhism spread through Cambodia between the 14th and 16th centuries, and the sanctuary slowly became a Theravada monastery. Wooden and masonry buildings rose among the older stone.[5] Cambodianess dates the change from the 13th century, when Theravada Buddhism took hold in Cambodia and the temple stayed in use as a place of worship.[2] By the 20th century it was a living monastery with resident monks, daily offerings and new halls decorated with Buddhist stories.[5] Monks still sweep its courtyards, and local women bring offerings.[5] As of 2026 the site is an active pagoda and an important place of worship for local people.[2]
The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 1992.[1]
Architecture and layout
The complex faces east, and its outer enclosure is more than 400 meters (1,300 feet) long.[5] Cambodianess describes a square laterite enclosure wall 200 meters (660 feet) on each side, with sanctuary towers inside that are mostly of sandstone.[2] A double enclosure, both parts with galleries, surrounds a cross-shaped central temple and two libraries, and a naga balustrade lines the east entrance. A later Theravada prayer hall joins the east gate of the inner enclosure to the door of the central temple, and the central shrine carries a roof in the shape of a stupa.[3] Inside are galleries, courtyards and shrines that lead toward the central sanctuary.[5]
It is built of black sandstone and laterite,[4] unusual at a time when most temples were built of brick or reddish sandstone.[1] A modern Buddhist pagoda, built in the 1930s, stands among the ruins, so buildings of different eras now stand together.[2][5] In the same years French archaeologists studied the temple and carried out preservation work on parts of it.[2]
The temple was surrounded by a baray, or reservoir, which stored water and stood for the cosmic ocean.[5]
Art and inscriptions
The French scholar Philippe Stern placed its art in the 12th century, between the first and second periods of the Bayon style. Over the entrance to the central temple, a lintel and pediment show a bodhisattva, painted in gold.[3] The complex has false doors and windows framed by small columns, and carved sandstone lintels, the stone beams over doorways, showing deities and scenes from myth.[5] A stele in the prayer hall in front of the central temple carries an inscription of 1566 in Pali and Khmer. It shows that building went on until at least the 16th century, probably when the stupa and perhaps the hall were added.[3]
A modern vihara (វិហារ), or prayer hall, stands inside the old enclosure. It holds seated Buddha images and offerings, and its walls carry brightly colored murals of the life of the Buddha and the Jataka stories of his earlier lives.[5] The new paintings stand out against the older, darkened sandstone.[5]
Visiting
A sign at the entrance names it Nokor Bachey Temple (ប្រាសាទនគរបាជ័យ).[5][3]
References 5
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 nogoodnamesleft.net, Banteay Prei Nokor (December 8, 2019)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Cambodianess, Paul Valdebouze, Combining Ancient and Recent History around Religion at Wat Nokor (March 2, 2026)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Hello Angkor, Rodney Charles L'Huillier, Nokor Bachey Temple (updated January 1, 2026)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Happy Frog Travels, How to Visit Nokor Bachey Pagoda in Kampong Cham (undated)
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 The Traveler, Kampong Cham Temples Explained: Wat Nokor and Ancient Ruins (2026-02-14)
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