Project

Angkor was once the seat of the Khmer Empire, which ruled a large portion of Southeast Asia between the ninth and fifteenth centuries A.D. Following its peak in the twelfth century, Angkor began a long decline until only Angkor Wat was still in use by the sixteenth century. The dozens of Hindu-Buddhist temple complexes and hundreds of smaller structures were swallowed by the jungle. (...)

Angkor was once the seat of the Khmer Empire, which ruled a large portion of Southeast Asia between the ninth and fifteenth centuries A.D. Following its peak in the twelfth century, Angkor began a long decline until only Angkor Wat was still in use by the sixteenth century. The dozens of Hindu-Buddhist temple complexes and hundreds of smaller structures were swallowed by the jungle. Documented beginning in the 1850s by French archaeologists, art historians, and architects, their evocative descriptions and drawings of the buildings they found in the overgrown vegetation brought these temples to international attention and were the inspiration for many over the course of the next century. Since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Angkor has been a great focal point of the rebuilding efforts in Cambodia. WMF and many international teams have worked closely with Cambodian professionals and the APSARA Authority to document, conserve, and protect these astonishingly beautiful and important buildings. Since 1990, WMF has sustained a comprehensive conservation, training, and education program at Angkor. WMF’s program at Angkor is designed to advance the conservation of one of the most important historic monumental complexes in the world, to train Cambodians in the conservation and stewardship of their country’s heritage, and to help the governmental organization APSARA build its management capacity.