The Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, was built in 1958 to memorialize Cambodia's independence from France in 1953. It stands on the intersection of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard in the center of the city. It is in the form of a lotus-shaped stupa, of the style seen at the Khmer temple at Banteay Seri and other Khmer historical sites.[1] The Independence Monument was designed by the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, who was “personally selected and instructed” by Prince Norodom Sihanouk on how it should look like, combining “the religious and the secular.” It stands 37 meters tall.