Wat Kdol Don Teav 

Contemporary monastery and pagoda located just north of the heart of Battambang city, and west of the river. Featuring a grand stupa and remains of another.

According to locals, the pagoda was once fortified, and the cannons that are seen sitting in front of the governor’s palace/former provincial hall came from here but that needs some extra clarity, as Wat Kamphaeng was recorded as being fortified and is the area where the French pulled the cannons out of storage. Some say that the pagoda dates back to the early to mid-1800s while what we see today was first constructed in the early to mid-1900s

Update: On our August 2023 tour around the Tonle Sap, see here, we were lucky enough to get a look inside. On its wooden pillars, it retails the stencil art of the period which is quite rare to see, there is also a standing Buddha beautifully carved from wood and a cast bronze bell. The most significant item, locked away behind a glass wall with photography not allowed, is a stone-carved chaitya object depicting a Buddha seated on Naga (there is a replica of the same object at Wat Ek Rainsy).

The pagoda is also partly surrounded by a low-height wall with stucco rendering depicting a series of iconograghy.

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via rod@helloangkor.com - more..