Still standing🛕 Temple & religious buildingMiddle Ages & early modern
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is an important symbol of Cambodia and appears on the national flag. Together with the surrounding remains of Angkor, it is an exceptional resource for the study of Khmer art, religion and water management.
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Civilisation / patron
- Khmer Empire under Suryavarman II
- Built
- c. 1113 – 1150
- Status
- Still standing
- UNESCO World Heritage since
- 1992
- UNESCO World Heritage
History
Angkor Wat was built in the twelfth century as a royal temple complex, originally dedicated to Vishnu. Concentric galleries, broad moats and five distinctive towers evoke a cosmically ordered landscape. Extensive bas-reliefs depict, among other subjects, epic narratives, court ceremonies and battles. The complex later took on a Buddhist function and, unlike some surrounding urban areas, remained an active religious site.
More from: Middle Ages & early modern
- Hagia Sophia
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
- Chichén Itzá
- Borobudur
- Great Zimbabwe
- Mapungubwe
- Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela
- Moai of Rapa Nui
- Forbidden City
- Alhambra
- Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
- Cologne Cathedral
- Machu Picchu
- Walls of Benin
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
- Ayutthaya Historical Park
- Himeji Castle
- Saint Basil’s Cathedral
- Grand Place, Brussels
- Taj Mahal
- Windmills of Kinderdijk
Sources: Wikipedia — Angkor Wat