Bellary Fort

Bellary Fort ("Bellary Kote") was built on top of a hill called the "Ballari Gudda" or the Fort Hill. It is situated in the historic city of Bellary, in the Bellary district, in Karnataka state, India. It was built in two parts, namely the Upper Fort and the Lower Fort. The Upper Fort was built by Hanumappa Nayaka, a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire. It was the official residence of the Hande family. The Lower Fort was built by Hyder Ali in the latter part of the 18th century.

A French engineer was the architect and builder of the Lower Fort. He also refurbished the Upper Fort. After the forts were completed, Haider Ali found that the forts built were at a lower elevation vis-a-vis an opposite hill called the 'Kumbara Gudda', thus putting the new forts militarily at a strategic disadvantage. As a result, Haider Ali was annoyed with this lapse, and it is said that he ordered the hanging of the French engineer at the east gate of the fort. The French engineer's grave, dated 1769 (inscribed as unknown French Engineer), is located at the east gate of the fort and has been preserved due to efforts of local Muslims who also claim that it was the tomb that belonged to a Muslim saint.

The forts have fine ramparts with a rich history with several historical and religious monuments. A citadel was in the upper fort with several ancient tanks while the lower fort on the east housed the arsenal.

Text adapted from “Bellary Fort” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bellary Fort ranks #5,497 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #180 of the 220 mapped in India. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,163 times in the last 60 days, more than 53% of the atlas. See how India compares in the castle statistics.

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