Cambodia
Oudong
Oudong: Royal Stupas on the Hill of Cambodia's Former Capital
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Reaching Oudong
Oudong lies about 35 to 40 km north-west of Phnom Penh, near the west bank of the Tonle Sap, and its royal stupas stand on Phnom Oudong, a hill with two crests. Your cruise line will tell you where the ship moors and how you reach the hill.
- The hill is also known as Phnom Preah Reach Troap.
- Oudong now lies within Oudong Me Chey, a city in Kampong Speu Province created in 2022.
- National Road 5, which runs from Phnom Penh to Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, passes through the area.
- The site has been on UNESCO's Tentative List for World Heritage since 1992.
- Cambodia is heavily affected by landmines and unexploded weapons, and mined areas are often unmarked, so in rural areas, including around temple complexes, stay on main routes and do not pick up metal objects.
A Place of Pilgrimage
Oudong is a place of pilgrimage as much as a historic site. Cambodians come to pay their respects to former kings at their stupas, and religious ceremonies held each year draw local pilgrims and visitors from elsewhere in Cambodia.
- The stupas on the hilltops include ones dating from 1623 and 1891.
- A concrete stupa built by King Norodom Sihanouk and inaugurated in 2002 is the tomb of his parents and grandparents and also holds relics of the Buddha.
- On the hilltop stand the remains of a large Buddha statue badly damaged by bombing.
- A local legend holds that the Buddha in the Arthaross temple, the Temple of Eighteen Points, faces north rather than the usual east, as a sign of the strength of the old Khmer kingdom.
- The name Oudong comes from the Sanskrit uttuṅga, meaning tall or supreme.
A Brief History
Oudong was founded in 1601 after the abandonment of Longvek and served as a royal residence and capital for much of the following two and a half centuries. King Norodom moved the court to Phnom Penh in 1866, and the town suffered heavily under the Khmer Rouge.
- Foundation, 1601: King Srei Soryapor founded Oudong in 1601, after the earlier capital of Longvek was abandoned in 1594.
- A builder king: King Ang Duong, in the 19th century, built canals, terraces and bridges and raised many pagodas in the area.
- The French protectorate, 1863: The treaty placing Cambodia under French protection, signed by King Norodom and Admiral de La Grandière, was concluded at Oudong in 1863.
- The court leaves, 1866: In 1866 Norodom left Oudong and took the royal court with him to Phnom Penh, the present capital.
- War, 1974 and 1977: In March 1974 the Khmer Rouge captured Oudong and drove its people into the countryside; government forces retook it later that year. In 1977 the Khmer Rouge badly damaged its temples, monuments and religious buildings.
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