Kittur is a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

located in the

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 (14 November 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 defiance of the Paramountcy, in ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1824. Kittur reached its zenith during the Mallasarja Desai. The place has a Nathapanthi matha in police line area, and temples of Maruti in fort, Kalmeshwara, Dyamavva and Basavanna, the last named a later Chalukyan monument now completely renovated. Kittur 12

Location

Kittur presently lies in ruins with the Nathapanthi

matha A ''matha'' (; , ), 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 The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

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 stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

. 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 ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

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 Kittur State {{Belgaum-geo-stub