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"View of Battambang" (1863) from Le Tour du Monde
Battambang was established as a fishing village in the 11th century, centered around the Sangkae River. In 1795, Siam (modern-day Thailand) annexed much of northwestern Cambodia into the province of Inner Cambodia. The Siamese ruled Battambang as a provincial capital through the Abhaiwongse family. By 1880, Battambang had emerged as an important trading city inhabited by around 2,500 residents, with the river acting as the main transportation link to Phnom Penh and Saigon. Under Thai rule, only one road was built in the city, with housing emerging on both sides of it. Other landmarks constructed included a fort where the governor resided, a market, several pagodas, and a Catholic hospital.
In 1907, Battambang province was ceded to France to be reunited with Cambodia as part of French Indochina. Under the French, an urban layout was developed, which resulted in an enlarged French colonial town. This first attempt at modernization led to well-defined streets laid in a grid pattern and a series of open canals and bridges, in the locality now known as the Heritage Conservation Area. Both riverbanks were linked by the construction of two bridges in 1917. In 1926, a second phase of urban development was implemented, focusing on the west of Battambang, with a newly constructed railway linking the city to Phnom Penh. Residential villas, the central market, and state buildings were also constructed.
In 1953, Prince Norodom Sihanouk chose Battambang as the centre of Cambodia's independence movement, and he spearheaded its modernisation during his leadership of an independent Cambodia. Battambang developed a plan to become an industrial and economic hub for northeast Cambodia. Battambang was Cambodia's second largest city during the 20th century. Textile and garment factories were built by French and Chinese investors, Battambang Airport was constructed, and the railway line was extended to the Thai border at Poipet. To serve the cultural needs of the population, numerous schools and a university were built, as well as a sports centre, a museum, and an exhibition hall.
Like the rest of Cambodia, life in Battambang was affected by the Cambodian Civil War and subsequent genocide. Development stalled in Battambang under the Khmer Republic, and it was abandoned altogether during Democratic Kampuchea, with its population forcibly evacuated into labour camps and land tenure being abolished. Once the genocide began, Battambang Provincial Museum was converted into a prison. The Phnom Sampeau killing caves, a Khmer Rouge execution site, are located around six kilometres from the city. In 1980, following a Vietnamese invasion that toppled the Khmer Rouge regime, thousands of refugees returned to the city, but plans for further development could not take place due to lack of investment. The surrounding province remained a stronghold for Khmer Rouge insurgents into the 1990s. Battambang city was besieged by Khmer Rouge guerrillas in 1990, but they failed to capture it. Conflict continued in and around the city until 1997.
Starting in 1989, when private property rights were reintroduced, Battambang began to develop an economy around agricultural products, and small businesses emerged. The city's municipal government established a Heritage Protection Area in 2009 to safeguard around 800 historic buildings. Following investment from GIZ, the municipality's "Master Development Plan 2030" was endorsed by the national government in 2015, making it the only Cambodian city besides Phnom Penh to have such a plan.
In 2022, the Provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts listed ancient temples, prehistoric sites, colonial buildings, and traditional Khmer houses as buildings under conservation.
