Wat Veang Chas

The old Royal Palace during the time of King Ang Duong who reigned for two periods between 1848-1860. The old vihara (pagoda) was rebuilt in the late 1990s with support from PM Hun Sen along with additional recent refurbishments. The grounds are quite large, quite pleasant, and surrounded by a vast expanse of water on one side, on the northern side of which is a related site, Wat Prang.

On the grounds, there is also a large pond retaining remnants of a wooden structure, the pagoda, the old vihara, and numerous auxiliary buildings for the monks.

Some of the original canons that once guarded the palace grounds can be seen positioned around the old vihara site, according to a local many were sold off or lost during turbulent times of the past. As seen, some feature Traditional Chinese characters but no one knew much about their origin noting that the area was an eclectic area for foreign trade seeing merchants from across Asia and Europe.

Old and new, the monks quarters, library etc.

Historical Notes

Oudong. – In the eastern part of Samrong Tong, six kilometers from the river, in the center of a vast plain of rice fields, are the remains of Oudong the victorious, “uttam man jai”, the last capital before Phnom Penh. But already previously she had received the kings of Cambodia on various occasions. There they built two fortified palace enclosures, with ramparts, ten cubits high, covered with planks and tree trunks and surrounded by large ditches. To the north, the oldest of these enclosures measured eight hundred meters on each side; the southern one, that of King Ang Duong, only four hundred. In the vicinity, and especially between these two enclosures, numerous basins had been dug, one of which was very large was called Srah Keo the “precious basin” or “crystal basin”. Currently the sites of the palaces are deserted and the surrounding villages, with three or four thousand souls at most, are insufficient to maintain the numerous pagodas which are falling into ruins on all sides.

Le Cambodge. Le royaume actuel, Etienne Aymonier, 1901-1904

Further resources and reference

• Burial ceremony of Khan Seima, Preah Vihear, Wat Veang Chas and inauguration of achievements in the pagoda, 1997

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap. Rodney Charles L'Huillier has spent over seven years in Cambodia and is the author of Ancient Cambodia (2024) and Essential Siem Reap (2017, 2019). Contact via [email protected] - more..