Phnom Penh, also spelled Pnom Penh or Phom Penh, Khmer Phnum Pénh, capital and chief city of Cambodia. It lies at the confluence of the Basăk (Bassac), Sab, and Mekong river systems, in the south-central part of the country.
Phnom Penh was founded in 1434 to succeed Angkor Thom as the capital of the Khmer nation but was abandoned several times before being reestablished in 1865 by King Norodom. The city formerly functioned as a processing centre, with textiles, pharmaceuticals, machine manufacturing, and rice milling. Its chief assets, however, were cultural. Institutions of higher learning included the National University of Phnom Penh (founded in 1956 as the Royal Khmer University), with schools of engineering, fine arts, technology, and agricultural sciences, the latter at Chamcar Daung, a suburb. Also located at Phnom Penh were the Royal University of Agronomic Sciences and the Agricultural School of Prek Leap.
The picturesque city of Phnom Penh was built around the Royal Palace and Preah Morakot Pagoda, the latter known for its floor of silver tiles and many treasures, including a golden Buddha statue. The Royal Palace compound included the Royal Palace (1919), the Royal Palace Museum, and the Veal Mien (Royal Plain), on which the national congress met twice a year. The National Museum displays Khmer art and historical documents. The European quarter, in the northern sector of the city, stood at the foot of the high Phnom Penh (Penh Hill), atop which was a pagoda housing the ashes of the legendary Lady Penh, whose discovery of a bronze Buddha there inspired the settlement bearing her name. Phnom Penh’s other educational institutions included the independent Buddhist University and institutes for Buddhist and Pāli studies. A world-renowned attraction was the Royal Ballet, until modern times restricted to performances before Cambodian royalty. Its authentically bejeweled dancing girls gave mimed versions of ancient Buddhist and Hindu legends. There was also a national theatre.