Monuments In India

Vellore Fort

Vellore fort was constructed by Chinna Bommi Nayak and Thimma Reddy Nayaka the Vijayanagar Kings in 1566.  Aravidu dynasty ruled in Vijayanagar Empire for a long time and they used this fort as headquarters of their administration.  This fort has importance for its toughness and strong masonry.  This fort is located at 27 kilometers distance from Vellore district.

History

In the various phases of history, this fort faced a lot of transfer of ownerships from one hand to other.  As a second handover, Bahmani Sultan captured this fort from Vijayanagar Kings and ruled over the area for a decade or more.  From them Maratha Sardars captured this fort. Later it gone in the hands of Nawabs of Karnataka and finally British east India Company grabs it.  The fort remained under British control till the independence of India. During British period, in this fort, the king of Sri Lanka, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and Tipu Sultan the king of Mysore held as prisoner.  Any ways, this fort has a communal harmony point as inside the fort, a Church, a mosque and a Hindu temple is existed.  This fort also witnesses the grand massacre of Vijayanagar king Sriranga Raya’s family.

Later on the Vijayanagar Empire regained its dignity and then the fort was again renovated.  During this period, Chandragiri was made the 4th capital of Empire.  Aravidu dynasty raised this fort to a new horizon during their reign. At this time there was a battle between two fractions of Raya family to decide, who will take the tile officially. This battle was like world was of modern days in which Nayaks dynasty of Thanjavur was with Rayas and Gingee of Madurai were assisting Aravidu family’s second fraction. Later the fort was grabbed by the strong army of Bijapur Sultan but shortly the same was captured back by Nayaks. This fort was remained under the control of Bijapur Sultans from 1656 – 1678 and Marathas took over this from 1678 – 1707. Mughals ruled over this area using this fort from 1707-1760 and longest possession of this fort was under British from 1760 – 1947.

How to Reach

Vellore is located on plain area and hence no problem of transportation to reach there.

By Air

Tirupati International Airport is nearest. Various flights are connected with this airport from different parts of the country as well as abroad too.

By Rail

Vellore is the nearest railway station.  Chennai and Mumbai are also connected with this station.

By Road

This fort is located at 120 kilometers from Chennai and 210 kilometers from Bangalore.  Frequent bus services and taxies are available to reach this place.

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