Hanguranketha ( si, හඟුරන්කෙත, translit=Han̆guranketa; ta, அங்குரன்கெதை, translit=Aṅkuraṉketai) is a town in the
Nuwara Eliya District,
Central Province of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
It is approximately southeast of
Kandy and northeast of
Colombo and located on the B413 Road.
History
The name of the town is purportedly derived from ''Sangaruwan Ketha'', a thriving paddy field. The location was also known as ''Diyatillakepura'', a camping site of a number of Kings of Kandy during the various
Chola invasions. Hanguranketha was used on numerous occasions as the temporary capital of the
Kingdom of Kandy
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom ...
King Senarath was the first king to build a royal palace in Hanguranketha.
His son,
King Rajasinghe II, erected a royal palace, audience hall and several other buildings in Hanguranketha, as well as a constructing a lake, Udamaluwa, making it the site of his summer palace. According to
Robert Knox's ''
An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon'', the city had been surrounded by a whitewashed protective wall, which encircled the large two-storied palaces. The entrance of the palace had two beautifully carved doors and door panels. Rajasinghe was cremated at Hanguranketha following his death in 1687 and his ashes were deposited at a site near
Adahanamaluwa Gedige Viharaya.
In 1814
King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha fled to the safety of Hanguranketha when the Sinhalese aristocracy torched his palace in Kandy.
The palace was completely destroyed in the
Uwa Wellassa Great Rebellion in 1818. Only two buildings still exist from that era, the Maha Vishnu Devalaya and the Pothgul Maliga Maha Viharaya. Following the 1818 Rebellion, the remains of the destroyed palace were used in the construction of the present
Viharaya, with a large hall for the library built during 1831-1880. The stone carved door frames,
moon-stone slab and stone pillars belonging to the royal palace have been incorporated into the Viharaya building. The
Devalaya
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
was used as a troop
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
by the British following the rebellion.
Attractions
* Gala Uda fortress
* Pothgul Maliga Maha Viharaya
* Maha Vishnu Devalaya
* Kitulpe Ranpatge Vihara
* Medapitiye Arattanaya
*
Holy Emmanuel Church
See also
*
List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka
Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya District. The following is a list of settlements in the province.
__NOTOC__
A
Abasingammedda, Adhikarigama, Agalakumbura, Agalawa ...
External links
*
{{NuwaraEliyaDistrict-geo-stub
Populated places in Nuwara Eliya District