THE CATHEDRAL THAT WAS NEVER REBUILT

 The Cathedral of Phnom Penh (officially the Cathedral of Christ the King) was a prominent Roman Catholic cathedral located on Monivong Boulevard in the Russei Keo district of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Construction of the cathedral began in the late 19th century under the French colonial administration to serve the growing Catholic population in Indochina. Designed in the French Neo-Gothic revival style, its scale and grand proportions were frequently compared to the famous Reims Cathedral in France.

During the Cambodian Civil War, as conflict escalated in Phnom Penh, the cathedral suffered surrounding damage from shelling. In late 1972 and January 1974, Khmer Rouge rockets struck near the grounds, causing structural damage to the adjacent rectory.

Shortly after capturing Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime systematically razed the cathedral. It was one of the very first major monuments destroyed by the regime as part of their campaign to eradicate religion, foreign colonial influence, and urban infrastructure ("Year Zero").

The building was dismantled stone by stone down to its foundation. Almost nothing of the original structure remained on the site. A pair of guardian lions that originally stood near the cathedral's entrance survived and were later placed on the steps of the National Museum of Cambodia.
The cathedral was never rebuilt; today, the site is occupied by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia.

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