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Phnom PenhPhnom PenhImage:Phnom_penh_palace.jpg|thumb|280px|right|A monk walking in front of the Royal palace in Phnom Penh '''Phnom Penh''' (Khmer language|Khmer: Khmer alphabet#Styles|Mul script Image:PhPenh1.png; Khmer alphabet#Styles|regular script Image:PhPenh.png|40px) is the capital city|capital and largest city of Cambodia. ==Geography and climate== {{Infobox City | official_name = Phnom Penh, Cambodia | nickname = "Penh" | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_map = CambodiaPhnomPenh.png | map_caption = Location of Phnom Penh | subdivision_type = Provinces of Cambodia|Province | subdivision_name = Phnom Penh | leader_title = Governor | leader_name = Kep Chuktema<br>(Image:Kep.png)| area_magnitude = | area_total = 290 | area_land = | area_water = | population_as_of = 1998 | population_note = (List of metropolitan areas by population|metropolitan area) | population_total = 862,000 (city proper) | population_density = 3446.6 | timezone = | utc_offset = | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | latitude = | longitude = | website = http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh | footnotes = }} ===Geography=== Phnom Penh, located in the south-west of Cambodia, at the Tonle Sap river, a tributary to the Mekong river. ===Climate=== It's hot, with little seasonal variation. ==Naming== The city takes its name from the ''Wat Phnom Daun Penh'' (known now as just the ''Wat Phnom'' or Hill Temple), built in 1373 to house five statues of Buddha on a man made hill 27 meters high. It was named after Daun Penh (Grandma Penh), a wealthy widow. Phnom Penh was also previously known as ''Krong Chaktomuk'' (Chaturmukha) meaning "City of Four Faces". This name refers to the junction where the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap River|Tonle Sap rivers cross to form an "X" where the capital is situated. ''Krong Chaktomuk'' is an abbreviation of its ceremonial name given by Ponhea Yat|King Ponhea Yat which was "Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Sereythor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor" (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខមង្គល សកលកម្ពុជាធិបតី សិរីធរបវរ ឥន្ធបត្តបុរី រដ្ឋរាជសីមា មហានគរ។). ==History== Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire fled Angkor Thom when it was captured by Thailand|Siam in 1431. There are stupa behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. It was not until 1866 under the reign of King Norodom of Cambodia|Norodom I that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government, and the Royal Palace (pictured) was built. This marked the beginning of the transformation of what was essentially a village into a great city with the Colonial Cambodia|French Colonialists expanding the canal system to control the wetlands, constructing roads and building a port. By the 1920s Phnom Penh was known as the ''Pearl of Asia'' and over the next four decades continued to experience growth with the building of a railway to Kompong Som and the Pochentong International Airport. During the Vietnam War, Cambodia, including Phnom Penh, was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam|NLF, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA/NLF, the South Vietnam|South Vietnamese and its allies and the Khmer Rouge. In 1975 the population was 2,000,000. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge and Democratic Kampuchea on April 17, the Cambodian New Year, and was evacuated by force; its residents being made to labor on rural farms as "new people (Kampuchea)|new people". Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured. It is now the Tuol Sleng Museum and along with Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometers away, a memorial to those who were killed by the regime. The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnam|Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. By 1998, Phnom Penh's population was 862,000. ==Administration== Administratively, although Phnom Penh is a municipality, its status is equal to provinces of Cambodian . It is subdivided into 7 districts and 76 communes. *1201 Chamkarmon *1202 Daun Penh *1203 Prampir Makara *1204 Toul Kork *1205 Dangkor *1206 Meanchey *1207 Russey Keo ==See also== *Cambodia *History of Cambodia ==References== *[http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/ Phnom Penh Government Website] Accessed 18 April 2005 **[http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/english/history.html History of Phnom Penh] ==External links== {{commons|Phnom Penh}} *[http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/english/introduction.html Phnom Penh Government Website in English] **[http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/khmer/introduction.html In Khmer] **[http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/french/introduction.html In French] *[http://www.phnompenhpost.com/ Phnom Penh Post] *[http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0838827.html Infoplease: Phnom Penh] *[http://www.canbypublications.com/phnompenh/ppintro.htm The Phnom Penh Visitors Guide] {{Cambodia}} Category:Capitals in Asia Category:Cities in Cambodia de:Phnom Penh es:Phnom Penh fr:Phnom Penh io:Phnom Penh he:פנום פן nl:Phnom Penh ja:プノンペン pl:Phnom Penh sk:Phnompenh fi:Phnom Penh sv:Phnom Penh zh:金边 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Phnom Penh is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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