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Gallery hall of the northern Khleang with remains of the porch

The Khleang ( Khmer ឃ្លាំង , UNGEGN -Romanisierung khleăng, IPA [ kʰleəŋ ]) are twin buildings in Angkor Thom in Cambodia and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Angkor . The northern and southern Khleang stand immediately to the east of the row of towers Prasat Suor Prat and look to the west at the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom. They originated from the end of the 10th to the beginning of the 11th century in the northern part of Yasodharapura , the then capital of the Khmer Empire. The earlier function of the Khleang has not been clarified and is still controversial today. Use as warehouses or treasury, as their modern name suggests, can be ruled out.

story

Ornate door gable in the southern Khleang. The garland shown is held in the middle by the demon Kala .

The northern Khleang arose between the late 10th and early 11th centuries in the Khmer Empire, possibly under the rule of King Jayaviravarman in the first decade of the 11th century. The smaller southern Khleang, built a short time later, remained unfinished. The French archaeologist Maurice Glaize , who researched Angkor on behalf of the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in the middle of the 20th century and conserved the buildings, gives in Les monuments du groupe d'Angkor Jayavarman V. , who from 968 to 1001 ruled, or Suryavarman I. as possible builders. The Buddhist Suryavarman I was able to prevail against Jayaviravarman in succession disputes in the first decade of the 11th century and was king of the Khmer Empire until 1050. More recent research also date the southern Khleang to the reign of Suryavarman I or Jayavarman V.

In terms of design, the Khleang can be classified in the phase between Pre-Rup and Baphuon styles . Their decorations indicate the time shortly after the temple of Banteay Srei was built. In the northern Khleang there were two inscriptions that come from the reign of Suryavarman I (1006 / 10-1050). In the southern Khleang two inscriptions were found which literally repeat the oath of the workers, which was also engraved in 1011 on the doorpost of the eastern gopura of the royal palace of Angkor Thom. This find was an important clue in the reconstruction of the building history. Angkor Thom as a demarcated city did not yet exist at the time the Khleang was created; these and other already existing buildings of the later Angkor Thom formed the northern part of the old capital Yasodharapura at that time .

Although the modern name Khleang means "temple of the storehouses" or "temple of the treasury", such a function can certainly be excluded. Their purpose has been discussed to this day, including the assumption that they could have served as reception halls for foreign dignitaries. As with most other structures in Angkor, tropical vegetation overgrown the Khleang after the center of the Khmer Empire shifted to Phnom Penh in the south in the 15th century and Angkor lost its former importance . In 1908 the archaeologist Jean Commaille freed the buildings from their overgrowth on behalf of EFEO; from 1919 to 1920 his colleague Henri Marchal continued this work. In 1992 Angkor and thus also the Khleang were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

architecture

General plan of Angkor Thom with northern and southern Khleang
In the gallery hall of the southern Khleang

The Khleang lie north and south parallel to Victory Avenue, which leads to the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom. Between the Khleang and the Siegesallee there is a 90 × 48 m pond. At first glance, the Khleang appear similar, namely rectangular and elongated, and are lit as gallery halls by large columned windows. To the east and west of them are centrally cross-shaped vestibules . Both had an inner courtyard, with a prasat as the central sanctuary in the northern Khleang . Annexes are connected to the central gallery halls to the north and south on a lower level .

The architectural style of the Khleang is unmistakable with typical elements such as outer galleries with gopuras in the shape of a cross and four-part door lintels with depictions of Kala holding garlands of flowers and statues that show a mild smile and have braided hair. Within Angkor, it can be found at the Ta Keo and Phimeanakas temples , the central temple of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom. Outside of Angkor you can meet him in Phnom Chisor and Preah Khan, among others . For the period from 1010 to 1050 one therefore speaks of the Khleang style.

Southern Khleang

The unfinished southern Khleang has a width of 4.2 m and is 45 m long. It has 0.9 m thick sandstone walls decorated on the base and cornice . On the two main sides, i.e. to the west and east, there are large rectangular windows with seven railing columns. The east and west portico have four windows, the wooden gables of which are no longer preserved. The gallery of the southern Khleang is over 45 m long. The only decoration is a frieze under the cornice. The chambers adjoining the central gallery hall on the lower level are closed with a false portal to the outside and have a window to the west. To the east, a narrow door led to further galleries, including two more that ran north-south. These four galleries, made of lighter material, are no longer preserved. Overall, the galleries enclosed a two-part inner courtyard measuring 50 × 30 m. The eastern door of the southern extension is flanked by elegant columns.

Northern Khleang

Entrance to the small sanctuary in northern Khleang
Find from the northern Khleang in the Guimet Museum

The northern Khleang has a later cross-shaped terrace in front of the central building , which stands on heaped ground. Their balustrade is in the shape of Nagas . Overall, the northern Khleang, 60 m long and 4.7 m wide, is more imposing in appearance than the southern one and is more accurately worked. The entire surface of the plinth is adorned with classic relief sculptures and offset diamond motifs and a central band of garlands, which are considered to be particularly finely designed for Khmer architecture. The porch is square in shape and has four window openings. The pillars of the northern Khleang have four large bands, which suggests an older date than the southern Khleang. Since they have four fewer bands than the columns of the southern Khleang, they are more robust, while the front and the lintel with the Kalas head, which is framed by vegetative scrollwork , show characteristics of the 10th to 11th centuries. The eastern and western lintels of the central hall are decorated with floral volutes. At 1.5 m, the walls are thicker than those of the southern Khleang and in the unadorned interior probably supported a false storey, which collapsed due to the practice at the time of supporting the stone work above the door and window jamb with double beams. To blindness sandstone was used as the basic skeleton of laterite is. In the central part of the long gallery, the tiled roof was later broken through by a wall, which formed a tower, which for the most part collapsed. The area of ​​this center is square with sides 4.5 m, while the galleries adjoining on both sides are 18.7 m long and 4.7 m wide and each end in a hall, from which two doors lead to the east.

Two bronze statuettes representing Vishnu and Lokeshvara were found in the gallery . In the east, like the southern Khleang, there are galleries that encompass the inner courtyard. Here it was possible to restore parts of the outer wall with cornices and long horizontal window openings. In the center of the courtyard is a smaller, cross-shaped sanctuary in the shape of a prasat, which approximates the Angkor Wat style and stands on a lavishly decorated platform. Of this only the main level has been preserved. In the past, the sanctuary was probably connected axially to the galleries via the plinth, thus forming a cross shape. The chamber of the central sanctuary is 2 × 2 m and has a door opening in each direction.

In the east, the inner courtyard ends with a gopuram. This opens to another inner courtyard, which is formed by a laterite wall. There are two so-called libraries in it , each with a door opening to the east. The function of these buildings typical of Khmer architecture, which can be recognized by their rectangular floor plan, thick walls, a single portal and loopholes-like openings for exposure, is still unknown. In the middle of this second courtyard is a small sanctuary in the shape of a Greek cross . It stands on an extensively decorated platform, has three false doors, axial stairs and has medallions with dancers.

Web links

Commons : Khleang  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Marilia Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor (= National Geographic Art Guide ). Gruner & Jahr / RBA, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-937606-77-7 , pp. 243–245 (Italian: I tesori di Angkor. Translated by Wolfgang Hensel).
  • Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques: Ancient Angkor . 2nd Edition. River Books, Bangkok 2003, ISBN 974-8225-27-5 , p. 121 (English).
  • Maurice Glaize: Les Monuments du groupe d'Angkor . 4th edition. Adrien-Maisonneuve, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-7200-1091-X , p. 123 f . (French, 285 p., translation into English by Nils Tremmel [PDF; 8.0 MB ; accessed on August 11, 2011] First edition: Portail, Saigon 1944).
  • Dawn F. Rooney: Angkor. Cambodia's wondrous Khmer Temples . 6th edition, Odyssey Books & Guides, Hong Kong 2011, ISBN 978-962-217-802-1 , p. 357 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c M. Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor. Hamburg 2006, p. 243.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Maurice Glaize: Les Monuments du groupe d'Angkor. 6e édition avec notes et addenda, J. Maisonneuve, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-7200-1091-X , p. 123.
  3. ^ A b c Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques: Ancient Angkor . Bangkok 2003, p. 121.
  4. ^ A b Dawn F. Rooney: Angkor. Cambodia's wondrous Khmer Temples . Hong Kong 2011, p. 357.
  5. ↑ Kent Davis: Le Khmérophile: The Art and Life of George Groslier. Cambodian Dancers - Ancient & Modern, DatAsia Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-934431-12-2 , p. 179
  6. ↑ a b M Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor. Hamburg 2006, p. 29 f.
  7. ^ Dawn F. Rooney: Angkor. Cambodia's wondrous Khmer Temples . Hong Kong 2011, p. 149.
  8. ↑ a b c d M. Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor. Hamburg 2006, p. 244.
  9. ↑ a b M. Glaize: Les Monuments du groupe d'Angkor . Paris 1993, p. 123 f.
  10. ↑ M. Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor. Hamburg 2006, p. 243 f.
  11. ↑ M. Albanese: The Treasures of Angkor. Hamburg 2006, p. 48.

Coordinates: 13 ° 26 ′ 45.4 ″  N , 103 ° 51 ′ 41.5 ″  E

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 19, 2018 .