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Wat Botum, Phnom Penh

Overview of Wat Botum, Phnom Penh

Wat Botum Vathey (Meaning: Temple of the Lotus Blossoms) is a wat located at Oknha Suor Srun Street 7, Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is located to the south of the Royal Palace of Cambodia, on the western side of Wat Botum Park.

Significant in part because it is one of the city’s original wats, possibly founded in 1422 by King Ponhea Yat. Wat Botum took its current name in 1865 and its present structure in 1937. Of photographic note: The wat compound is crowded with ornate and colorful stupas, including the towering ‘Buddha’s Relic Stupa’ pictured left.

History of Wat Botum

Established by King Ponhea Yat in 1442 (1986 B.E.), Wat Botum is one of the most important and original pagodas in Phnom Penh.The wat was originally named Wat Khpop Ta Yang or Wat Tayawng and at the time of the construction of the Royal Palace in the 1860s when the pagoda changed to the Dhammayut sect, it was renamed Botum Wathei by monk Kantie Topodae after a former lotus pond on the site. Numerous politician and eminent persons of the city are buried here. Also, many prominent Cambodian monks have been ordained at the wat. You Bo and the Khmer Writers' Association have their headquarters at the wat.