National Museum

Welcome to the National Museum in Cambodia. It is the oldest and the biggest museum of the country and situated right next to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. You will find all the sculptures inside the National Museum relating to two main religions - Hinduism and Buddhism. This is because Cambodia used to widely practice Hinduism until the 13th century and since then Buddhism has gained the popularity amongst the Cambodian people. The National Museum does not only reveal religious practice through time in this country but also the changes of the Cambodian society, the kings and the life of Cambodian people. Some statutes are very fascinating but yet the architectural design of the Museum itself is probably the most inspiring of all.



The Architectural Design

The Museum was constructed on 15 August 1912 and renovations have been made since then. It was first intended to used as the Cambodian School of Art  (École des Arts Cambogiens in French) but later on was known to be the Museum of Cambodia. The Museum itself is a combination of concret and wooden structures styled in Cambodian traditional architectures.

The original structure has been kept and below is the National Museum that you can see today.


The Present National Museum

Garden inside the National Museum

There are small little ponds where lotus grow, flower used for religious purposes. 
There are also fishes in the ponds and you can find fish food near by to feed them. It's fun!!!

This is the first view you will see when you arrive.

Inside the National Museum
There are many statutes and sculptures of different styles in the Cambodian history - ranging from the pre-christ year to the modern day. Although Cambodia was influenced greatly by Indian culture during the first few centuries, it formed it own crafting styles unique to the region. You will find some statutes of gods that look similarly to those in India because Hinduism was the State's religion back to before the 13th century. However, in later centuries especially in the modern day, Buddism has become veyr popular and therefore most sculptures are mainly associated to Buddhism.

A bronze statute of Visnu - a god in Hinduism. He is known to be the god of protection and he has many arms (usually six). The Angkor Wat, the most popular temple of the country, was built to dedicate to this god in the early 13th century. 

Kenes - also a god in Hinduism.
He has a human body and an elephant head. 

Brahma - a god in Hinduism. He has four heads facing
 the four directions (east, west, south,  north) and many arms.

Nor Reay - a god in Hinduism.
He has many arms and each holds different weapons in wars.

Jayavarman VII - The greatest Cambodian Emperor. He was known for his kindness and care for his people and many big projects and infrastructures were built during his time. He was the first Cambodian king to transform Buddhism into the State's religion.

Krot - He is a very powerful bird in Cambodian history. He has a human body but has wings to fly around. He is known to be the carrier of the Visnu God, meaning when the god wants to travel around, he sits on the back of the bird.

Lingas. In Hinduism, the people believed that Lingas are very powerful and they provide prosperity to people and the nation. The Lingas were used only for religious purposes.

Linga and Yoni. In Hinduism, people believed that Linga and Yoni are together.
 They were used for religious purposes only to bring prosperity to those who pray and to the nation.

Buddhist Sculptures 
Since the sculptures lated to Hinduism were crafted a very long time ago, only sculptures made from stones and bronze remained to the present day. Wars and the abandonment of the sculptures in the nature made further destruction to the very few found in the National Museum. However, in the modern days buddhism has become the State's religion and many forms of Buddhas have been maintained. Not just in stone and bronze, you will find Buddhas crafted in woods, gold, silver and other precious metals in the National Museum. Buddhas have also been crafted in different postures and moods.

A collection of Buddhas

If you have a chance to visit Phnom Penh, the National Museum is a very good place to find out more about Cambodian culture. The Museum is not quite big in size and around 2 hours should bring you an insight into the country's history and traditions around the Museum. Phnom Penh Day hopes that you enjoy reading this page and your comments are highly appreciated.