Lolei
Lolei ( Khmer : ប្រាសាទលលៃ) is a temple complex in the Angkor region , the historical center of the Khmer kingdom of Kambuja. It is located in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap around 12 km east of the city of Siem Reap . Together with the Preah Ko and Bakong temples , Lolei belongs to the "Roluos Group" named after the nearby village of Roluos . The name Lolei is possibly a shortened form of Hariharalaya , the name of the then capital of the kingdom, which was in the area of the present-day village of Roluos.
History and meaning
Lolei was built during the reign of King Yasovarman I and inaugurated on July 8, 893, according to an inscription on a stele . It was dedicated to the memory of King Indravarman I , the father of Yasovarman I, and other ancestors of the king.
Originally, the structure lay on a flat artificial island of 90 by 80 meters in the middle of the Indratataka , a dammed water basin ( khmer : Baray ) with a length of 3800 m and a width of 800 m, which has now dried up. The construction of this water reservoir was started and largely completed during the reign of King Indravarman I. Under Yasovarman I, who moved the capital of Hariharalaya about 15 kilometers further northwest around the Phnom Bakheng (khmer: Phnom means mountain ), the northern dam of the Indratataka was completed and finally the temple Lolei, as the northernmost and last of the great temples of the Roluos -Group, built on the island in the middle of the water basin.
The central sanctuary consists of four tower structures ( prasat ) with a square base of 6 meters on each side in two rows. In contrast to the six temple towers of Preah Ko, which are similar to those of Lolei in style, these four are arranged slightly asymmetrically on the surface of the temple area, which indicates that two more were originally planned here.
The towers were mostly built from mud bricks. Parts of the facades, such as the blind doors (closed gates carved from stone), door frames, lintels , gables and reliefs depicting figures of gods and (guardian) demons from Hindu mythology, were carved from sandstone.
Today only two of the four towers are largely preserved, one is half derelict and the fourth collapsed in 1968. At the end of 2012, work was in progress to restore this tower. The outer surrounding wall of the complex with its four gopurams , which separated the temple area from the surrounding water, has practically completely fallen into disrepair.
Today there is a Buddhist monastery on the site.
literature
- Jürgen Bergmann, Berthold Schwarz, Annaliese Wulf: Cambodscha Laos Nelles Guide, 2006, ISBN 3-88618-796-9
- Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques: Ancient Angkor. River Books, Bangkok 1999. ISBN 974-8225-27-5
Web links
Coordinates: 13 ° 21 ′ 9.6 ″ N , 103 ° 58 ′ 26 ″ E