In 2012 Khmer Architecture Tours offered guided architecture tours through Battambang (Bat Dambong) in Cambodia. To reasons unknown to me they have since ceased operations in Battambang and only offer architecture tours in Phnom Penh.
Fortunately the well structured and researched PDF guide with the tours is still floating around on the internet. For your convienience I mirrored it here:
In 2022 I recreated both the North and the South Walk using the PDF guide and had a great time getting to know Battambang and learning a lot about its rich architectural history. Hence I decided to make the PDF available here and also transfer it into a Google Map, to make enjoying the walks easier for visitors to Battambang who are interested in architecture and history.
Both walks take about 2 hours to complete and can be done consecutively. Please note that the information in the document is from 2012 and sadly some buildings have been demolished since while others are in poor condition. Buildings which do not exist anymore are marked with ❌ on the map.
Architecture is the only form of art that is meant to be used every day by people. You can think of the connection between people and buildings as symbiotic. Buildings which are not used anymore lose their soul and become empty shells. So it is nice to see that most houses on the walk are still well in use. Perhaps raised interest in the others can help keeping them around and even some day breathe new life into them.
The PDF guide and all the information in it is from Khmer Architecture Tours and is mirrored here for educational purposes. The Google Map and all the pictures are made by me (except the old picture of Sangker Cinema which is from destinasian.com and the 2014 picture of the Sporting Ground which is taken from Google Street View).
Gallery of all the sites in order of visit (north to south)
