|
Belgaum Fort
 Location
:
Belgaum, Karnataka
Unique Feature
:
One Of The Oldest Monuments Of Karnataka
Built By
:
Jai Raya
Built In
:
13th Century
THE HISTORIC FORT
Belgaum Fort, one of the oldest monuments of Karnataka is situated in the mid of Belgaum. Jai Raya, an ally of the Ratta Dynasty, built the 13th century inventive structure built of stone-and-mud.
Yakub Ali Khan of the Bijapur Sultanate who took ownership of the fort & built its huge walls, bastions, battlements & the parapets rebuilt this fortress surrounded by a deep moat.
This fascinating monument, where mosques & temples co-exist, has a proud history, under the Rattas, Vijayanagar emperors, Bijapur Sultans, Marathas & finally the British.
Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned here during the British rule. Most of the monuments around the fort were built in the beginning of the 13th century.
The Shrines, The Mosques And The Bastis
At the entrance are two shrines, one devoted to Shri Ganapathi and an additional to goddess Durga. Inside the Fort are two 'bastis' built in the Late Chalukyan style. Of these, the more well-known is the Kamala Basti, built in 1204 AD.
 To its right is a Jain Temple, now in ruins. The Safa Masjid is one of the two mosques inside the fort it is the main attraction of the fort and also the best mosque in the whole city.
The staircase and wooden doors are replete with exquisite carvings. Two of the circular pillars in the Jamia Hall are said to be from old temples.
The sense of the past is all pervading here. Some of the pillars have Kannada inscriptions in the Nagari script while others have beautiful Persian script forming exquisite calligraphic decorations.
Within the walls of the fort are two bastis in the late Chalukyan style. In the Kamala Basti, the Neminatha idol in black stone should not be missed. The masterpiece here is the Mukhmantapa with a well-executed lotus on its ceiling. |
