Tiruchirappalli Rock-Fort, 1870 Photo
An 1870 photo of the Tiruchirappalli Rock Fort. Tiruchirappalli, or as the British called it, Trichinopoly, was and still is known as Trichy for short. This is an amazing and historically famous Fort with two temples built on a huge rock outcrop. It is something that one has to see to believe. It was the Pallavas who first built the Temple complex on top of the Rock. It was strengthened by subsequent dynasties and colonial rulers.
In Tamil history, several dynasties ruled Trichy such as the Cholas, Pallavas, Nayaks, and so on. The Rock-Fort comprises a huge granite outcrop which is one of the oldest geographical rock formations in the world. Because of its imposing height of 273 feet, building a fort on the top was quite natural for the rulers. The Nayaks built this beautiful and complex fortification along its difficult contours.
Read more Rock Fort Temple.
Did you know- there is a secret tunnel near the Tiruchirappalli Fort and legend has it that it goes all the way to the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur.
From the collection- Raja Ravi Varma’s “Birth of Shakuntala” Oleograph of c1894.
