Historical Places Near Hassan
Hassan city is the district head quarter of Hassan district of Karnataka State in South India. Hassan district was the center of the Hoysala Empire that ruled several regions in south India during 1000-1334 AD. Hassan is named after the Goddess Haasanamba - the similing goddess. Hassan is popular today for its Hoysala architecture and sculptures. Hassan district is also a major provider of agricultural products such as coffee, sandalwood, black pepper, potato, ragi, paddy, cucumber, and sugarcane. Hassan is also the home of the Master Control Facility of the Indian Space Research Organization as well as Malnad College of Engineering – one of the oldest engineering colleges in Karnataka.
Some of the popular historic places near Hassan are:
Sample Hoysala Architecture
Doddagaddavalli:
Doddagaddavalli is a small scenic village located 10 miles from Hassan. The village focal attraction is, the Lakshmi Devi temple built by Hoysalas. It was the first Hoysala temple built in 1114 A.D. The temple is located in the middle of coconut plantations and has a lake at its rear which adds to the scenic beauty.
Belur
Belur was the Capital city of one of the powerful Empire ruled by Yadava Kings. Well known among the Yadava Kings was King Vishnuvardhana who is been credited with building the main temple of Channakeshava. It is widely believed that the temple was built to mark the victory of Talkad against the Cholas. The work inside and outside the temple are exceptional with great attention to details.
Halebeedu
Halebeedu was the Capital of Hoysala Empire during 12th and 13th century AD. The city was built during the 12th century and thrived until the Vijayanagar dynasty moved the Capital to Belur during the 17th century. The sculpture and temple designs are based on sastras and quite unique. There are four important temples in Halebeedu:
- Hoysaleswara temple
- Kedareswara temple
- Jain Mandira
- Sri Ranganatha temple
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola is the holy place for Jains is well known for the 57 feet tall Gomateshwara statue that is carved in single rock. According to the inscriptions this statue was installed in 988 AD under the Ganga King Rachamalla Sathyavakya. The Mahamastakabhisheka ceremony that is performed every 12 years is one of the most widely attended events at Shravanabelagola. During this time the priests 1008 pots of sacred water, milk, curds, ghee, sugar, almonds, gold and silver flowers.
Manjarabad
Manjarabad is located near Hassan City along National Highway 48 just outside of Sakleshpur and is not as well known as the rest of the attractions near Hassan. The fort was built under Vijaynagar empire and later occupied by Tipu Sultan. It is star shaped and situated at an elevation of more than 3000 feet above the sea level. There are six watch towers spread across the fort for viewing the enemy movement. It is also believed that he constructed a secret tunnel from this fort to another fort in Srirangapattana near Mysore and Chennarayapatna for escape of royalties from enemy capture. Tipu Sultan seems to have been under constant threat from the British and his subjects, no wonder he had so many secret getaways. There are number of arched gateways which seems to be resting place for the horses. The fort seems to have all round water channel to protect from the enemy invasion.
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