Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the

Kirtankhola Kirtankhola ( bn, কীর্তনখোলা) is a river that starts at Sayeshtabad, in the district of Barisal, Bangladesh, and ends in Gajalia, near the Gabkhan canal. The total length of the river is about .Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both

Barisal District Barisal District, officially spelled Barishal District from April 2018, is a district in south-central Bangladesh, formerly called Bakerganj district, established in 1797. Its headquarters are in the city of Barisal, which is also the headqua ...

and

Barisal Division Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...

. It is one of the oldest municipalities and river ports of the country. Barisal municipality was established in the year 1876 during the

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

and upgraded to City Corporation on 25 July 2002. Barisal is Bangladesh's third largest

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

and financial hub. The city consists of 30 wards and 50 mahallas with a population of 328,278 according to the 2011 national census and with the voter of about 2.48 lakhs according to the 2018 voter list of city election. The area of the city is 58 km². The city was once called the

Venice of the East The following is an incomplete list of places which have been nicknamed Venice of the East. List See also * Venezuela, country whose name means "Little Venice" * Venice of the North * Little Venice Little Venice is a district in West Lon ...

or the Venice of Bengal.

History

Barisal was conquered by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji and was later a significant territory of the Delhi Sultanate and Bengal Sultanate. After the decline of the Suri Empire, the territory became a semi-independent area in the Mughal period because of heavy fighting between the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

chiefs, although most parts of the city were totally under the control of the governors of the proto-industrialised

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Be ...

. In course of time, it fell under the Bengal Nawabs. Raja Ramranjan Chakravarty was put as a

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

king during the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, later passed to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

at independence and finally Bangladesh. In ancient times, it was called Chandradwip (চন্দ্রদ্বীপ), while furing the Medieval Islamic times it was also known as Ismailpur & Bacola (বাকলা) in Europe.

Ralph Fitch Ralph Fitch (1550 – 1611) was a gentleman merchant of London and one of the earliest British travellers and merchants to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, south Asia & Southeast Asia. At first he was no chronicler but he di ...

, the first ever Englishman, a leather merchant, known to have visited Bengal in the mid 1580s, described Barisal in his journal as, "From Chatigan in Bengal, I came to Bacola; the king whereof is a Gentile, a man very well disposed and delighted much to shoot in a gun. His country is very great and fruitful, and hath store of rice, much cotton cloth, and cloth of silk. The houses are very fair and high built, the streets large, and people naked, except a little cloth about their waist. The women wear a great store of silver hoops about their necks and arms, and their legs are ringed with silver and copper, and rings made from elephants' teeth." The central city of this region is the city of Barisal. It is one of the biggest river ports in Bangladesh. It is a city with nearly 0.38 million people and a divisional headquarters, medical college, cadet college, some pharmaceutical industries, textile industries and the

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority ( bn, বাংলাদেশ অভ্যন্তরীণ নৌপরিবহন কর্তৃপক্ষ) also known as BIWTA is the authority who controls the inland water transport in Ban ...

's head office. Barisal is fast growing city of the country stands on the Kirtankhola River. Country's first short landing and take off airport has been completed in Barisal and a private Airlines named Air Bengal has begun its regular air flight between Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal Airport and Barisal. " Barisal guns" is a natural phenomenon named after Barisal; it is kind of a booming sound heard near lakes and rivers which is due to seismic activity under water, first heard in this region by the British in the 19th century.

Population

Demographics

According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, the population of Barisal (areas under the jurisdiction of the Barisal city corporation) stands at 328,278. By gender, the population was 51.63% male and 48.37% female. The literacy rate among the urban people of Barisal is 75.3%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 56.5%. Most people in Barisal are

Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the ...

. The long-standing inhabitants of the city are known as Barisaliya and they have a distinctive dialect. Apart from them, the city population is composed of people from neighboring

upazilas An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...

and

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(

Patuakhali Patuakhali ( bn, পটুয়াখালী ''Potuakhali'') is a town and district headquarter of Patuakhali District located on the southern bank of Laukathi river in the division of Barisal in Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquar ...

Bhola Bhola ( bn, ভোলা) is a town and district headquarter of Bhola District in the division of Barishal, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most ...

Pirojpur Pirojpur ( bn, পিরোজপুর) is a town in Pirojpur district in the division of Barisal in southern Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth- ...

Jhalakati Jhalokati, also spelled Jhalokathi, ( bn, ঝালকাঠি) is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2 It is bounded by Barisal district to the north and east, Barguna dis ...

, Barguna).

Religion

The majority of Barisal's people are Muslims (89.30%), mainly

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

school. Other religious groups include Hindus (9.7%), and very few numbers of other religions, mainly Christians (0.98%) and Buddhists (0.01%). Since 2015, the Catholic minority has its own

Roman Catholic Diocese of Barisal :''There is also a Diocese of Barisal (and a Bishop of Barisal) in the united Church of Bangladesh.'' The Roman Catholic Diocese of Barisal is a Latin suffragan bishopric in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Roman Catholic Archdio ...

Geography

Barisal city occupies an area of 58 km². Barisal District, with an area of 2790.51 km², is bounded by

Madaripur Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh. History Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakergan ...

Shariatpur Shariatpur ( bn, শরিয়তপুর জেলা, ''Shariatpur Jela'' also ''Shariatpur Zila'') is a district in the Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. It is bounded by Munshiganj district on the north, Barisal district on the south, Ch ...

, Chandpur and Lakshmipur districts on the north,

, Barguna and

Jhalokati District Jhalokati, also spelled Jhalokathi, ( bn, ঝালকাঠি) is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2 It is bounded by Barisal district to the north and east, Barguna dis ...

on the south, Bhola and Lakshmipur districts on the east, Jhalokati, Pirojpur and

Gopalganj Gopalganj may refer to: Bangladesh *Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division ** Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district ** Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District ** Gopalganj-1, a ...

districts on the west. Several rivers flow across Barisal including the Kirtankhola, Arial Khan, Khoyrabad, Kalijira and Sandha.

Climate

Barisal has a climate on the border between a dry-winter

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

(''Cwa'') and a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(''Aw'').

Points of interest

দুর্গাসাগর.JPG, Durga Sagar in Madhabpasha Baitul Aman Mosque.JPG, Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex 118 sadar road, Barisal City, Bangladesh..jpg, Shohel Chattar, Bibir Pukur Par Padma Pukur, Barisal.jpg, Padma Pukur, Barisal Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan Barisal.jpg, Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan 30 Godown, Barisal.jpg, 30 Godown Freedom Fighters Monument Barisal Divisional Museum.JPG, Barisal collectorete building Barisal City at night.jpg, Barisal city at night Collectorate Pond Barisal at night.jpg, collectorete pond Durga Sagar: with an area of about 2,500 hectare, is the largest pond or dighi of southern Bangladesh. It is located at Madhabpasa village of babuganj upazila, about 11 km away from Barisal town. Locally it is known as Madhabpasha Dighi. According to a desire of Rani Durgavati, mother of Raja Joynarayan, the dighi was dug in 1780 (1187 BS). There are coconut trees around the dighi which together with the dighi are bounded by brick-walls. In the middle of the dighi, there is an island with bushes. Migratory birds usually come here during winter. The surrounding areas of the dighi has now been turned into a picnic spot. Madhabpasha was a capital of the kingdom of

Chandradvipa Chandradwip or Chandradvipa is a small region in Barisal District, Bangladesh. It was once the ancient and medieval name of Barishal. History The history of Chandradwip goes back to the Pre-Pala Period. Chandradwip was successively ruled by th ...

. * Durga Sagar * Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex *

Oxford Mission Church Oxford Mission Epiphany Church, commonly known as Oxford Mission Church, is an Anglican church in Barisal, a southern city in Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest and arguably the second largest church in Asia by land area. History In the early 18 ...

* Bell's Park aka Bangubandhu Udyan *

Rupatoli Rupatali is a zone and neighbourhood under development in Barisal, Bangladesh. The area is developed by Rupatali Housing State. Its terminal, known as Rupatali Bus Terminal, connects the city of Barisal to other districts. Rupatali's points of ...

area * 30 Godown * Planet Park * Muktijoddha Park * Narikel Bagan & Horticulture (Agriculture Training Institute) * Lakhutia Zamindar Bari * Korapur Miah Bari Masjid * Shankar Math * Town Hall * Sher-e-Bangla Memorial Museum * Bir Sreshtho Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Library and Museum * Jibanananda Das Museum * Dapdapia Bridge * Bibir Pukur * Shahid Shukkur-Gafur Memorial Park, Amanatganj * Taltali Bridge, Amanatganj * Padma Pukur (Pond of Lotus) * Kali Mandir founded by the Poet Mukunda Das * BadhyaBhumi Monument (বধ্যভূমি স্মৃতিসৌধ) * Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Regional Centre (Coconut Garden)

Architecture

Barisal's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, and have been built over a long period of time. Some well known heritage buildings are: * Guthia Baitul Aman Jame Mashjid Complex *

Kamalapur Mosque Kamalapur Mosque, also known as Masum Khan Mosque, is a square shaped three domed ancient mosque and archaeological site located in Barisal District of Bangladesh. It is located in the Kamalapur village under Gournadi Upazila. It was built in the ...

* Rammohan Samadhi Mandir * Sujabad Kella * Sangram Kella * Sharkal Fort * Girja Mahalla * Bangabondhu Uddyan * Ebadullah Mosque * Kasai Mosque *

* Shankar Math * Kali Bari of Mukunda Das * Joint Mosque at Bhatikhana * Aswini kumar town hall * Charkella * Durgasagar Dighi * One domed

Qasba Mosque Qasba Mosque ( bn, কসবা মসজিদ, ar, مسجد القصبة) is an early 16th-century nine-domed mosque and archaeological site located in Barisal District of Bangladesh. It is located in the Qasba village under Gournadi Upazila. ...

* Fakir Bari Jame Mosjid * Housing Estate Jame Mosjid *

Barisal Zilla School Barishal Zilla School (), popularly known as BZS, is a public educational institution for boys, located in Barisal, Bangladesh. It was the first high school established in Barisal Division. It was founded as Barisal English School on 23 December 1 ...

Building

Sports

Cricket and football are the two most popular sports in Barisal while tennis and

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

are also popular. There is a national stadium in the city known as

Barisal Divisional Stadium Barisal Divisional Stadium (also known as Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabad Stadium) is a multi-purpose, district stadium in Barisal, Bangladesh. It is currently used mostly for football and cricket matches. The stadium can hold up to 30,000 people ...

(also known as Abdur Rab Serniabad Stadium). It is a multi-purpose stadium and has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. It is also used for football and other sports. Besides different organization share to stage a show there occasionally. Notable players from Barisal who have played for the national team include

Shahriar Nafees Shahriar Nafees Ahmed ( bn, শাহরিয়ার নাফীস আহমেদ; born: 1 May 1985) is a former Bangladeshi cricketer, who played all formats of the game, and was also a former T20I captain for Bangladesh.He made his On ...

Sohag Gazi Sohag Gazi ( bn, সোহাগ গাজী; born 5 August 1991) is a Bangladeshi international cricketer. He made his Test debut in first test during West Indies's tour of Bangladesh in 2012, taking six wickets in the second innings. He is ...

Kamrul Islam Rabbi Kamrul Islam Rabbi (born 10 December 1991) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who has played for Barisal Division from the 2008–09 season. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Domestic career Rabbi made his first-class ...

and

Fazle Mahmud Fazle Mahmud Rabbi (born 13 December 1987) is a first-class and List A cricketer from Bangladesh who is sometimes referred to on scoresheets by his nickname 'Rabbi'. He made his first-class debut for Barisal Division in 2003–04 against Dhaka ...

. There is a regional sports training centre under

Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ক্রীড়া শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান, Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education) is the national sports institute of Bangladesh. It is res ...

(BKSP) situated at Rahamatpur in Barisal Barisal is also home to the Bangladesh Premier League franchise

Fortune Barishal Fortune Barishal ( bn, ফরচুন বরিশাল) is a franchise cricket team plays in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), representing the country's Barishal Division. Following the 2015 competition, the team were one of the BPL's si ...

Transport

Air

Barisal Airport Barishal Airport is a domestic airport located in the southern city of Barisal in Bangladesh. GMG Airlines, Royal Bengal Airlines and United Airways previously operated flights to Dhaka from this airport. In April 2015, the national carrier ...

is a domestic airport.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines ( bn, বিমান বাংলাদেশ এয়ারলাইন্স) commonly known as Biman ( bn, বিমান), pronounced (), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazr ...

Novoair NOVOAIR ( bn, নভোএয়ার) is an airline based in Dhaka, Bangladesh operating mostly domestic flights. It operates 25 flights each day from Dhaka to its seven destinations. History NOVOAIR was established in October 2007 as an aviat ...

and

US-Bangla Airlines US-Bangla Airlines ( bn, ইউএস বাংলা এয়ারলাইন্স) is a privately owned Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Dhaka and based at Shahjalal International Airport under the umbrella companies of US-Bangla Group ...

use this port. Active air-route is Barisal-Dhaka-Barisal.

River port

Barisal River Port is the second largest river port of Bangladesh. It's the most popular way of communication for the people of Barisal to Dhaka, the capital city. It is also a popular transport system with other districts like Bhola, Barguna, Lakshmipur.

Road

Barisal is connected to most other regions of the country via the N8 national highway. There are two bus terminals in Barisal, Nathullabad Central Bus terminal and Rupatali Bus Terminal, which connect Barisal to other districts.

Education

Barisal is home to many educational institutions. Govt. Brojomohan College is the oldest institution of higher education in the city, founded in 1889. There is a public university

University of Barisal University of Barishal ( bn, বরিশাল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, ; also known as Barishal University or simply BU) is a public university located in Barishal, a divisional city in southern Bangladesh. It is the only ...

and two private universities, a government medical college Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC), a textile engineering college Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College and an engineering college Barisal Engineering College. There are also educational institutions like

, Barisal Cadet College, Govt. Syed Hatem Ali College, Government Women's College, Govt. Barisal College, Amrita Lal Dey College, Barisal Govt. Girls High School, Barisal Model School and College and Barisal Asmat Ali Khan Institution (A.K. School). Besides these there are three teacher training colleges, a Government Polytechnic institute, two technical institutes, a homeopathic college and a social welfare training centre. Major institutions include: * Amrita Lal Dey College * Barisal Cadet College * Barisal Engineering College *

Barisal Government Women's College Barisal Government Women's College is a master's degree college in Barisal, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, wit ...

* Barisal Govt. Polytechnic Institute *

Brojomohun College Govt. Brojomohun College, Barisal (also BM College) is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Bangladesh. It is located in the city of Barisal in south-western Bangladesh. History On June 14, 1889, Aswini Kumar Dutta founded Brojo ...

Government Syed Hatem Ali College Government Syed Hatem Ali College ( bn, সরকারি সৈয়দ হাতেম আলি কলেজ), located in Barisal, is one of the renowned colleges of southern Bangladesh. It is a university level college where students besides ...

* Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College * Sher-e-Bangla Medical College *

Media

Barisal is a center for the newspaper, periodical and book publishers. Some locally published

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s and periodicals are:

Newspapers

* ''Daily Ajker Barisal'' * ''Daily Ajker Barta'' * ''Daily Ajker Poribartan'' * ''Daily Banglar Bone'' * ''Daily Barisal Barta'' * ''Daily Barisal Bhorer Alo'' * ''Daily Barisal Pratidin'' * ''Daily Bhorer Angikar'' * ''Daily Biplobi Bangladesh'' * ''Daily Dakkhinanchal'' * ''Daily Motobad'' * ''Daily Satya Songbad'' * ''Daily Shahnama'' Source:

Periodicals

* ''Bakerganj Parikrama'' * ''Chirantan Bangla'' * ''Upakul'' * ''Gournadi Parikrama'' * ''Khadem'' * ''Jago Nare''

Notable people

Notes

References

External links

Official City of Barisal website
{{Coord, 22, 42, N, 90, 22, E, region:BD_type:city, display=title Barishal District Cities in Bangladesh Populated places in Barisal Division River ports