
The Sion Hillock Fort 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 ...
in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
(Bombay),
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 was built under the regime of the English
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
, between 1669 and 1677, atop a conical hillock when
Gerard Aungier was the Governor of Bombay. It was notified in 1925 as a Grade I Heritage structure. When it was built, the fort marked the boundary between British-held Parel island and the
Portuguese held
Salsette Island
Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
that lay to the north across the creek.
The hillock is situated 500 metres from the
Sion railway station. At the base of the hill is the Mumbai Circle office of the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
,
and a garden – the
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...
Udyan. Nearby forts include the
Riwa Fort and
Sewri Fort
The Sewri Fort (also spelled Sewree Fort) is a fort in Mumbai built by the British at Sewri. Built in 1680, fort served as a watch tower, atop a quarried hill overlooking the Mumbai harbour.
History
Up to the eighteenth century, Mumbai consis ...
.
The fort is dilapidated and a collection of broken stone steps, scattered walls and ruins, overrun by trees and ground cover. The fort wall has a small room on top. A series of pathways lead to it. The fort offers a panoramic view, overlooking the salt pans in the
Thane Creek
Thane Creek, previously Thana Creek, is an estuary of the Arabian Sea and one of the two main distributaries of the Ulhas River, in Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The Ulhas splits at the northeast corner of Salsette island into its ...
. However vandalism and apathy have taken their toll on the structure. Restoration of the fort had begun in 2009 but was stopped mid-way due to paucity of funds.
Gallery
File:Sion_Fort_Panorama_view.jpg, The fort together with all ancient Portuguese remains of buildings situated to the north, east and south-east sides of the hill
File:Sion_Fort_-_structure.jpg, Fort walls
File:Sion_Fort_-_remains.jpg, Fort walls
File:Sion_Fort_Structure.jpg, Fort walls
File:Structure_at_Sion_Fort.jpg, fort of Sion ancient Portuguese remains at Sion Fort
File:DSCN9277c.jpg, The fort
File:Canon_at_Sion_Fort.jpg, A Canon at the Fort
File:Sion_Fort.jpg, The fort on the hill
See also
*
History of Bombay under British rule
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
*
List of forts in Maharashtra
The Forts of Maharashtra are often referred to as ''Green Canyon of India''.
This is a list of forts in Maharashtra, a state of India.(District)
* Harshal Fort (Nashik district, Nashik)
* Agashi Fort
* Ahmednagar Fort
* Mandar Fort
* Ajinky ...
References
Archaeological sites in Maharashtra
History of Mumbai
1670s establishments in the British Empire
Monuments of National Importance in Maharashtra
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