Angkor Wat: Historical Facts about the Largest Religious Structure in the World

Summary

Angkor Wat, in northwest Cambodia, is the world's largest spiritual structure in the shape of a temple complex, with an acreage of 401 +344 acres. A quincunx of 4 towers surrounds a center spire that rises up to a height of 65 meters (213 feet) in the air in the temple's heart. The temple is separated into 3 rectangle-shaped galleries, each of which rises over the one before it. It's surrounded by a 3.6-kilometer-long (24-mile-long) external wall and a five-kilometer-long (three-mile-long) moat.

The temple was built as the state temple for the Khmer Empire at the demand of Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaodharapura (, contemporary Angkor), the Khmer Empire's capital. It was constructed in the early 12th century to honor the Hindu god Vishnu, but by the end of the century, it had been changed to a Buddhist temple.

Angkor Wat is a fascinating structure, dating back hundreds of years, and it’s impressive how much of it has remained intact.