Polonnaruwa Ancient City
UNESCO World Heritage Site
the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century. Source: http://whc.unesco.org
Polonnaruwa served as the island’s capital from the 11th to 13th centuries, a relatively brief but glorious epoch that witnessed a flowering of Buddhist arts and architecture. In AD 993 the invading armies of the Tamil Cholas looted Anuradhapura and moved the island’s capital to Polonnaruwa for the next 77 years. From the outset, the new city had a cosmopolitan mix of south Indian Hindu and Sinhalese Buddhist cultures. In its prime, the city stretched for many kilometres along the eastern side of the majestic Parakrama Samudra reservoir, its monasteries and sumptuous palaces and temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, protected by 6km of strong encircling walls. Its importance as a secure outpost for armies gave it the name Kandavuru Nuvara (Camp City).
The Quadrangle
At the heart of the ancient city, the Dalada Maluwa (Terrace of the Tooth Relic), popularly known as the Quadrangle, was the centrepiece and sacred precinct of ancient Polonnaruwa, home to the Tooth Relic and its most important cluster of religious shrines. The Quadrangle is dominated by the flamboyant Vatadage, a superbly decorated circular shrine and perhaps the most ornate building in Sri Lanka: its outer walls are carved with friezes of lions, dwarfs and lotuses, and, at each of the four entrances, with elaborate moonstones and guardstones (depicting nagaraja – king cobra figures with seven-hooded heads). Source: www.insightguides.com
UNESCO World Heritage Site
the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century. Source: http://whc.unesco.org
Polonnaruwa served as the island’s capital from the 11th to 13th centuries, a relatively brief but glorious epoch that witnessed a flowering of Buddhist arts and architecture. In AD 993 the invading armies of the Tamil Cholas looted Anuradhapura and moved the island’s capital to Polonnaruwa for the next 77 years. From the outset, the new city had a cosmopolitan mix of south Indian Hindu and Sinhalese Buddhist cultures. In its prime, the city stretched for many kilometres along the eastern side of the majestic Parakrama Samudra reservoir, its monasteries and sumptuous palaces and temples, both Buddhist and Hindu, protected by 6km of strong encircling walls. Its importance as a secure outpost for armies gave it the name Kandavuru Nuvara (Camp City).
The Quadrangle
At the heart of the ancient city, the Dalada Maluwa (Terrace of the Tooth Relic), popularly known as the Quadrangle, was the centrepiece and sacred precinct of ancient Polonnaruwa, home to the Tooth Relic and its most important cluster of religious shrines. The Quadrangle is dominated by the flamboyant Vatadage, a superbly decorated circular shrine and perhaps the most ornate building in Sri Lanka: its outer walls are carved with friezes of lions, dwarfs and lotuses, and, at each of the four entrances, with elaborate moonstones and guardstones (depicting nagaraja – king cobra figures with seven-hooded heads). Source: www.insightguides.com