As a town Battambang isn't particularly old although there's proof of occupation in your community for over 1000 years. It had been established being an important trading city sometime in the 18th century. In 1795 Thailand annexed a lot of north western Cambodia including the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap and Thai rule lasted until 1907 when the province was ceded to the French to engage in their Indochina colony. A lot of the architecture still seen today in the centre of the town dates from the first half the twentieth century. Development was halted by the Second World War when Battambang once again fell under Thai administration but continued rapidly after Independence in 1953.
Battambang suffered much the same while the rest of the country beneath the Khmer Rouge - the town was evacuated as the population was moved to the countryside where lots of people died. The city was liberated by the Vietnamese weekly after the fall of Phnom Penh on 13th January 1979 nevertheless the Khmer Rouge continued to fight on in the north west of the province only suspending hostilities in 1996. In this period the town was off limits to many visitors since it was on the leading line in the war against the Khmer Rouge. Often the government forces would push the Khmer Rouge back towards Pailin in the dry season simply to cede a lot of the gains when the monsoon rains came.
After 1996 Battambang was at peace for the first time in decades and experienced some growth. However it's only until very recently that tourists came to the town in just about any numbers - a lot of the minefields have now been cleared and the key roads have been rehabilitated.
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