Monday, June 22, 2009

Devanahalli Fort

Devanahalli is a small town located at a distance of 35 kms from Bangalore. It has been in the news in the recent times for the Bangalore International Airport that has come up there. As of now it happens to be the second largest airport in the country.

This is not the only reason for town's fame. There is lot of history associated with this place and it happens to be the birth place of Tippu Sultan known as Tiger of Mysore. He was born here in 1750 A.D

But the history of this town is much older than this. Here exists a fort built by Mallabairegowda in 1501 A.D. It remained in the hands of his decedents till 17th century and later occupied by Tipu Sultan family. The present fort is not the original one, but rebuilt by Hyder Ali and Tippu by stone in the 17th century. It is spread over a total area of 20 acres with roughly oval east orientation of fortification. A spacious battlement is provided towards the inner side of the fortification. Like Jaisalmer Golden Fort this is a living fort where many families live inside the fort.

The fort has as many as 12 semi-circular bastions. The bastions are provided with gun points built with lime and brick.

The fort has entrances decorated with cut plasterwork at the east and west. The entrances are quite small, comfortable enough for the horses of yore.

There is a memorial located about 150m south-west of the fort, is traditionally identified as the spot where Tippu Sultan was born. A four pillared arched structure which rests on a square platform within a masonry enclosure having entrance from the east is the only remains available.


The fort has several beautiful temples.

How to Reach There

This place is located on Bangalore - Hyderabad National Highway 7. On this road do not take a deviation to the airport. But still proceed until you reach a junction with circle on the road. At this junction right and immediate right again. This will lead to the fort via Tippu Memorial.

55 comments:

Anya said...

Fascinating and beautiful old fort!
Your world is a very beautiful world...
I wish I was there .... ;)

Tinsie said...

Very interesting. I've never seen anything quite like this.

Debra Trean said...

as always these are wonderful travel images

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous shots, Rajesh! Love the history you included to accompany the photos, always makes for such an interesting, informative post.

Greener Bangalore said...

Thats a new info about Devanahalli man......great!!

humanobserver said...

Great images yaat. The place looks wonderful

Reader Wil said...

This is an interesting piece of information about this stronghold. Thanks for sharing!

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Superb images and a wonderful description, as always!

nadia said...

Beautiful pictures coupled by a fascinating history. If I happen to be in Bangalore, I'd definitely not miss this birth place of Tipu Sultan!

SandyCarlson said...

India has many impressive fortifications. This one looks especially sturdy!

sandeep said...

interesting info abt devanahalli and good photos to accompany :) thnx for the article, rajesh

Arija said...

Beautiful stonewrk, especially around the round arch.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Absolutely fascinating and a lesson to modern architects.

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

Wonderful post! I always appreciate learning something new.

joo said...

Beautiful place again. The bastions are great! Thanks for showing:)

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Very interesting. I love seeing all the different places here on my world.

Swetha said...

thats nice ! i have also seen a similar fort.. which is in Kerala!

Unseen India Tours said...

This fort is so beautiful !! Really loved the shots !! Great Rajesh..Unseen Rajasthan

Luiz Ramos said...

Traditions and beautiful views.
Great World.

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Very interesting historic place and gorgeous pictures!!

Marites said...

A small town with very interesting history and fort! Interesting place.

Rajesh said...

Anya: Thanks for appreciation.

Tinsie: Thanks, it is a fort on the ground level.

Debra: Thanks for appreciation.

Island Rambles: Thanks, you are most welcome to explore this part of world.

Sylvia: Thanks for the appreciation. History keeps me interesting.

Greener Bangalore: Thank you.

Deepak: Thanks, it is nice place.

Wil: Thanks for appreciation.

nadia: Thanks, it is a nice place to explore.

Rakesh: Thanks for appreciation.

Sandy: Thanks, many more forts to explore.

Sandeep: Thanks, this is the little known part of this town.

Arija: Thanks. Yes, it is a nice work.

Babooshka: Thanks. Yes, very true.

Buenos Aries: Thanks. Welcome you to this part of world.

Joo: Thanks. Bastions are still intact.

hip chick: Thanks. Welcome you to this part of world.

pranksygang: Thanks, it must be Bekal fort.

Unseen: Thanks for appreciation.

Luiz: Thanks for appreciation.

Phivos: Thanks. There is lot of history with this place.

Marites: Thanks for appreciation.

Σταλαγματιά said...

I love travelling.
Each destination is hiding thousands secrets.
The history and culture of each country is unique.
Thank you!

Hazel said...

Great shots. Thank you for including info on how to get there. It's a plus to know about the new airport in Bangalore as well.

About the awards, I didn't know there were negative feedbacks. Would you care to let me know? I'll appreciate it very much.

I do have thoughts about awards, but I accept and pass them to those who deserve them, like you and Anya actually, in the name of good blogging relations.

If you are unable to pass them along for whatever reason, I will understand. I just hope they didn't cause you any bother. Really Rajesh, it's absolutely no problem as far as I'm concerned. After all we are in the blogging world to blog, and not to fuss too much about awards. Thanks for letting me know about the feedback. I look forward to viewing more of your posts.

Shantanu said...

Great pictures. Sometimes I wonder how our current buildings will look to our descendents a few hundred years in the future. As beautiful? Ugly as hell?

Unknown said...

What a wonderful look at your world and a great tour back in time and history..

It's very cool that people are still living there. I often feel very sad, when I see the great architecture of years long gone, lying in ruins..

This place will live on and contunue making history..

Carver said...

Great shots of the fort and a very interesting post.

penny said...

Wonderful photos and history, Rajesh.

lareine said...

12 semi-circular bastions --- it must have been formidable during its prime... isn't it nice to visit such places and re-live its history, even for just a few moments?...

hope the later generation can still see this beauty in the future:)...

Sehraeuber said...

a beautiful country with great history and many interesting architectural buildings ... thanks for sharing.

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful images of ancient beauty.

LadyFi said...

Wow - look at that impressive brickwork! And still standing after thousands of years...

koand said...

Zdjęcia na Twoim blogu zawsze oglądam z dużą przyjemnością , pozdrawiam :)

Glennis said...

A really old fort, and a different type to any I have seen before, but a wonderful example of how they defended their territory.

Rajesh said...

Aναστασία: Thanks. Very true, I agree with you.

Hazel: Thanks for the appreciation. I have no problem with them. I will not be able to pass them on. Once again thanks.

Carver: Thanks for the appreciation.

Shantanu: Thanks. I think they may also experience what we are feeling now.

Pam: Thanks for the appreciation.

Karen: Thanks. I also feel the same. This place also needs some maintenance.

Walter: Thanks for the appreciation.

Lareine: Thanks. In its glory days it would have been formidable. People do need to preserve them for future.

Tammie: Thanks for appreciation.

LadyFi: Thanks, most of it still intact.

Andrez: Thanks for appreciation.

Asta: Thank you.

Glennis: Thanks, it IS definitely different from other hill forts in India.

Dave said...

What an amzing blog to visit. Thanks for teaching me so much!

Ice said...

Hi Rajesh, thanks for dropping by.

I start to wonder if you're in a touring business. You seem to visit so many places. Or do you just enjoy touring just for fun?

sujata sengupta said...

Such an old fort, not much of an architecture, but considering the fact that its so ancient, I wonder, how it stands its ground even today.

Bengbeng said...

There is a sense of history even just looking at the pics.

ARUNA said...

wonderful travel images Rajesh!!! Great architecture.....i'm so proud of our country!!!

Sumandebray said...

Nice post. Is this preserved by ASI. It has apparently undergone some restoration work but unfortunately it appears to me as if it has gone through renovation.
Do you always travel or these are from your ealier collections! Just curious.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Rajesh:)

Greetings:)

I enjoyed reading this interesting and informative post along with lovely photos.

Your narration is excellent. Many thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day Rajesh:)
Joseph

KRIS JASPER said...

Im having a free tour of India! Yey!!!!!

Thanks for touring me around.

:)

George said...

Thanks for taking us to another very interesting locale. The history of the fort is fascinating and the pictures are wonderful.

Rajesh said...

Ai Shiang: Thanks. I am not in travel business. I love seeing new places. There is so much to discover.

Dave: Thanks for the appreciation.

Sujata: Thanks. True not much of uniqueness in architecture. The color of the stone used is different from most other forts. It is under ASI.

Bengbeng: Thanks. Very true.

Aruna: Thanks for the appreciation.

Sumandebray: Thanks. It is under ASI. Hence has got some support from them. But there is lot needs to be done to maintain it well.

Some of the posts are earlier travel like Rajasthan. But this is new.

Joseph: Thanks for the appreciation.

Kris: Than you.

George: Thanks for the appreciation.

Ramakrishnan said...

Great Post. Nice photographs. A piece of history ignored & forgotten. I visited this fort a couple of years ago and it was virtually deserted except for a handful of people.
I have a piece on this fort written in 2007 - if you have the patience to access it.

Have a nice day

Ram

myonlyphoto said...

Interesting bastions, and thanks for sharing the history of the town. Interesting stuff about sultan. Anna :)

GMG said...

My list is growing. Jaisalmer was already there; now you included Devanahalli... Long list! ;)

Indrani said...

I had posted on this last year. Great place to visit.

Rajesh said...

Ramkrishnan: Thanks, it is a nice fort with the beautiful temple know to only few people. I could not find it in 2007. Which month was it in?

Anna: Thanks for the appreciation.

GMG: Thanks, I am pleased I could shopw you new place.

Indrani: Thanks. It is a place know to handful people.

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Very nice - you are doing good service by publicising these little know places of our heritage and history.
Indrani also had written a piece on this last year, I think.

Barbara Martin said...

I appreciate the time you've taken to prepare your posts on India. The history that accompanies the photos is wonderful.

Rajesh said...

Raji: Thanks for the appreciation & encouragement.

Barbara: Thanks for the appreciation.

Vishal Hemanth V said...

how do i get there??? Are there any bmtc buses or is arranging for a private transport the only way to get there? i was looking for this information.

Rajesh said...

Vishal: Thanks. You can either take BMTC or KSRTC bus. This is immediately after the airport.