History of Belgaum

Belgaum, ancient 'Venugrama' ('Bamboo village') is the district and divisional headquarters. It was the capital of the Rattas who shifted to this place from Saundatti during the close of 12th century. The place has a fort inside which there is the famous Kamalabasti built by one Ratta Officer called Bichiraja in 1204. It has a fine huge protruding lotus (Kamala) in its ceiling and this beautiful structure in Chalukyan style housesNeminatha Teerthankara image.

The place came under the Sevunas (Yadavas) and Vijayanagara and later conquered by Mahamood Gawan in 1474 on behalf of the Bahmanis. The fort was strengthened by the Adilshahis and there is an excellent structure, Safa Mosque with three entrances with floral and calligraphis designs. Two of its pillars have Kannada inscriptions in Nagari scripts, one of 1199 of Ratta King Kartaveerya IV and another of 1261 if of Sevuna (Yadava) Krishna. The Persian Inscription here states that the mosque was built by Asad Khan, Bijapur Commander.

he Jamia Masjid in the fort was built by Sher Khan in 1585-86. There is a dargah of Khanjar Wali near it. Belgaum later came under the Mughuls (who called it Azamnagar) and the Maratha till its conquest by the British in 1818. The British founded their Cantonment here and they made it the head-quaters of Maratha Light Infantry. The Maruthi temples here is quite vast and has some antiquities of Chalukyan times. The fort has Chalukyan Pillars spread all over.

 The Kapileshwar temple in Shahpur area was of Chalukyan times, now totally renovated. Shapur a suburb of Belgaum was in Sangli State; Wadgaon, another suburb was a separate state called Junior Kurundwad. Near Wadgaon, a Shatavahana settlement with the head of stucco Buddha figure have been excavated. Belgaum has a City Corporation. It is a place with pleasant weather. It played a leading part in the freedom movement. The Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College here has a highly educative pathology museum

Location
Belgaum is a district situated in the northwestern parts of Karnataka. It lies at the border of two states Maharashtra & Goa. It is one of the oldest towns in the state, lying at a distance of 502 km from Bangalore & 500 km from Mumbai. The district comprises 1278 villages with an area of 13,415 sq.km with a population of around 5 lakh.
Originally Velugram (town of bamboos), Belgaum City (13 degrees 32'N & 42'E) is a crossroad of cultures due to its peculiar geographical location. Nestling in the foothills of the enchanting Sahyadris (Western Ghats), at an altitude of about 779m, 100km from the Arabian Sea with River Markandeya flowing nearby Belgaum is unique. Its natural beauty & environment are a world of contrast & harmonies with swift & kaleidoscopic change in topography, vegetation & climate (50" rainfall). Its hinterland offers a rich resource mix attracting people as tourist, settlers, job-seekers & entrepreneurs, making it a veritable paradise or a "poor mans Switzerland