Baphuon

Baphuon

The temple was built in the second half of 11th century, around 1060 by King Udayadityavarman II at the center of his capital city in the Angkor area, and dedicated to Shiva.

The beauty of the architecture of the imposing three-stepped pyramid, its decorative elements including hundreds of relief panels, is comparable only to Angkor Wat, the main feature of this temple is the approach, which is supported by the three short round columns from the main gate to the main temple, and the big reclining Buddha statue just behind the temple. It is unique in the Khmer arts. Unfortunately Baphoun was poorly constructed and has collapsed several times over the years and has been reconstructed. This is the only temple that the French decided to restore the entire temple by numbering all stone blocks before dismantling. The restoration was made at the first time between 1960s and 1972 and was stoppd by the Khmer Rouge threat to power in 1975. It is now under the restoration by the French EFEO again. The restoration has been estimated to be finished by 2005 but a lot of things still clearly need to be done.