This temple was built in the 12th century by order of King Jayavarman VII. He dedicated it to his own father, giving it the name “Sacred Sword”.
According to fragments of surviving chronicles, in the complex covering about 5 000 sq. m, not only religious ceremonies were held, but there was also a monastery where more than 1000 monks studied. In addition, the temple often became the king's temporary residence.
Around Preah Khan there was a wall and a moat filled with water. Beyond them stood a large city and the royal palace. Since the city's buildings were wooden, they have not survived, so now it is very difficult to imagine that almost a thousand years ago life was bustling here.
After the fall of the Khmer Empire, the temple fell into neglect. Gradually, nature began to reclaim the territory once wrested from it. The trees literally “swallowed” some structures, twisting fancifully through the stone blocks. If not for the Russian pilot Viktor Golubev, who conducted aerial photography of the area in 1937, it is unknown when this temple would have been discovered.
The territory of Preah Khan is very large; you can walk here for hours, admire the bas-reliefs, take amazing photos, and even get lost. By the way, there is one unusual structure here that differs in architecture from all the other buildings, – it is a two-story building with round columns on the first floor. Outwardly, it even looks a little like Ancient Roman temples. Historians suggest that it was built in a later period.
