About Vijayapura

 

Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluka. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of the Adil Shahi dynasty. And it also well known for the sports by the popular Karnataka premier league team as Bijapur Bulls. Bijapur is located 530 km northwest of the State Capital Bangalore and about 550 km from Mumbai, and 384 km west of the city of Hyderabad.

 

The city was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas and was known as Vijayapur (City of victory). The city was passed to Yadavas after Chalukya's demise. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate. After the split of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate ruled from the city. Relics of the Sultanates' rule can be found in the city, including the Bijapur Fort, Bara Kaman, Jama Masjid, and Gol Gumbaz.

           

GOLGUMBAZ

Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. Construction of tomb, located in Vijayapur (formerly Bijapur), Karnataka, India, started in 1626 and completed in 1656. The name is based on Gola gummata derived from Gol Gombadh meaning "circular dome". It follows the style of Deccan architecture.

The structure is composed of cube, 47.5 m (156 ft) on each side, capped by a roof 44 m (144 ft) in external diameter. Eight intersecting arches created by two rotated squares that create interlocking pendentives support the dome. At each of four corners of cube, is dome-capped octagonal tower seven storeys high with staircase inside. The upper floor of each tower opens on to a round gallery which surrounds the dome.

  

VIJAYAPURA PORT

The Bijapur Fort (Kannada: ರ ೕ ; Vijayapur kote) is located in Bijapur District of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bijapur fort has plethora of historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of Adil Shahi dynasty.

The Adil Shahi Sultans who ruled for nearly 200 years in Bijapur had expended their utmost authority, almost exclusively, on architecture and the allied arts, each Sultan endeavored to excel his predecessor in number, size or splendor of his building projects. As a result, the buildings seen in and around Bijapur Fort and town have been rightly called as the Agra of South India.The rich history of the fort, the citadel, and other structures is subsumed in the history of Bijapur city, which was established in 10th–11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas. It was then known as Vijayapur (city of victory). By this time, the city was being referred as Vijapur or Bijapur.

 

 

 

         BARAKAMAN

 

Bara Kaman is unfinished mausoleum of Ali Adil Shah II in Bijapur, Karnataka in India. Ali Adil Shah of Adil Shahi dynasty wanted to build a mausoleum of unmatched architectural quality. It was planned that twelve arches would be placed vertically as well as horizontally surrounding the tomb of Ali Adil Shah. However, because of some unknown reasons, the work was left incomplete. As a result, only 2 arches were placed vertically. However, the remains of the 12 arches that were placed horizontally, are also visible in the premises.

The architect of Bara Kaman was Malik Sandal. The structure has raised walls in concentric arches. After the arches were erected, the inner arches were toppled, leaving only outermost arch. No cement was used, instead iron rings were used to hold the stones together.

           

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

SHIVAGIRI TEMPLE

 

Lord Shiva Statue : The 85-foot (26 m) tall statue of Lord Shiva installed by the T.K. Patil Banakatti Charitable Trust in Bijapur at Shivapur on Sindagi Road is gradually developing as a pilgrimage place.1,500 tonnes statue considered as the third biggest statue of Lord Shiva (Fourth tallest statue of Lord Shiva in world) in the country was prepared by sculptors from Shimoga for more than 13 months and the civilian design was provided by Bangalore-based architects. The statue weighs around 1,500 tonnes.

A small idol of Shiva will be installed beneath the big statue. Besides, the "Shiva Charite" will be engraved on the inside walls of temple in Kannada to help devotees learn the mythological stories related to Shiva. The trust wants to make it a major pilgrimage centre.

 

 

ALAMATTI DAM

 

The Almatti Dam is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna River in North Karnataka, India which was completed in July 2005. The target annual electric output of the dam is 560 MU (or GWh).

The Almatti Dam is the main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project; the 290 MW power station is located on the right side of the Almatti Dam. The facility uses vertical kaplan turbines: five 55MW generators and one 15MW generator. Water is released in to the Narayanpur reservoir after using for power generation to serve the downstream irrigation needs. Two separate facilities namely, Almatti 1 Powerhouse and Almatti II Powerhouse each separated by distance do provide power generation capabilities.