Kittur is a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

located in the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, it is the former capital of a minor principality as well as a major

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site.

History

The fort was built by Allappa Gowda Sardesai, the ruler of the Desai dynasty between 1650 and 1681. It was held by

Rani Chennamma Kittur Chennamma (23 October 1778 – 21 February 1829) was the Indian Queen of Kittur, a former princely state in present-day Karnataka. She led an armed resistance against the British East India Company in 1824, in defiance of the Paramountc ...

, a woman warrior of

who revolted against 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, ...

in 1824. Kittur reached its zenith during the Mallasarja Desai. The place has a Nathapanthi matha in police line area, and temples of Maruti n fort Kalmeshwara, Dyamavva and Basavanna, the last named a later Chalukyan monument now completely renovated.

Location

Kittur presently lies in ruins with the Nathapanthi

matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

site off limits, and the areas ''Maruti'', ''Kalmeshwara'', ''Dyamavva'', ''Basavanna'' and the Chalukyan monument, being completely renovated.

Archaeological museum

The archaeological museum, ''Kittur Rani Chennamma memorial government museum Kittur'', at the location is managed by the state department of archaeology and museums, Government of Karnataka. The museum was opened on 10 January 1967, by the then Prime minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. It has a rich collection of antiquities found in and around Kittur, which include a few of the weapons, swords, mail-coat, shield, engraved wooden doors and windows of the Kittur palace, inscriptions, herostones,

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

both from Kadrolli, Vishnu and Surya from Devarashigehalli, Subrahmanya from Manoli, Durga from hirebagewadi and many more antiquities, as well as some modern paintings.

Gallery

Some of the exhibits in the museum are shown below. File:GOVERNMENT MUSEUM KITTUR 07.jpg, Nandi, 12th Century A.D. File:GOVERNMENT MUSEUM KITTUR 35 (cropped).jpg, Surya, 10th-11th Century A.D File:GOVERNMENT MUSEUM KITTUR 70 (cropped).jpg, Hero stone, 14th Century A.D.

References

Forts in Belagavi district {{Belgaum-geo-stub