Place · abandoned planned town & fort · India
Bhangarh Fort, Alwar
Also known as Alwar, Bhangarh, Bhangarh (ruined Kachhwaha town), Bhangarh Fort
A Kachhwaha satellite town laid out on a grid below its fort by Madho Singh, brother of Man Singh of Amber, in the 1570s, with a market street, temples, havelis and a palace, and abandoned by the early eighteenth century. It is one of the most complete plans of a small Rajput town anywhere, because nothing was built over it.
- Date
- 1570s onward
- Function
- Military & resistance
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 27.100, 76.290
Worth knowing
It is now known almost entirely for a ghost story and an Archaeological Survey notice prohibiting entry between sunset and sunrise, which the Survey says is a routine security measure and which is universally read as an admission. The real reason the town emptied is generally taken to be the failure of its water supply.
Connections (1)
- Site adjacencyBairāt (Virāṭnagar)
Viratnagar and Alwar are connected through the eastern Aravalli landscape of Rajasthan. Both lie within a region of ancient settlements, hills and routes linking Rajasthan with the Ganga Yamuna plains. Their geographical proximity reflects the importance of northeastern Rajasthan as a transitional zone between the desert, Aravallis and northern Indian plains.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Bhangarh Fort”. Archaeological Survey of India, Jaipur circle monument records; Rajasthan State Gazetteer, Alwar district.
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