Constructed around 1890 based on plans by French architect Daniel Fabre, it was the first administrative building erected by the French protectorate, originally named the “Hôtel des Postes et Télégraphe.”
Located near Wat Phnom on a square intersected by Street 13, it stands in the heart of the city’s former French administrative quarter and remains the largest post office in Cambodia.
When the Khmer Rouge took control in 1975, the regime allowed no civilian private communication and abolished the postal system entirely. No stamps were issued and mail ceased to exist. Service resumed in early 1979 when the Vietnam People’s Army drove the Khmer Rouge out of Phnom Penh.
The building is recognized among 39 structures of singular monumental character in Phnom Penh deserving protection, and under Cambodia’s 1996 Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage it is inventoried for national preservation.
June 2026