Kandy

Kandy - also called town of Senkadagalapura , Mahanuwara , the big city then Kande by the Portuguese, and also locally Udarata - is a probably founded city of the center of the Sri Lanka in the middle of the 15th century and which occupies of the functions as well administrative as religious. It owes its name with the deformation of Kande , of the name which gave him in 1542 the Portuguese according to the title of the local leader Kande râja , “king of the mountain”. Its population rises with 161.395 inhabitants (census of 2001). Located at 116 km of Colombo, it is sprinkled by the Mahawelî river.

History

After Anurâdhapura of sixth century BC at the 8th century, then Polonnâruvâ, with its continuation until the 13th century, of 1592 until the beginning of the 19th century, Kandy is the capital of the island and consequently point of disjunction the Royal palace and the Dâlada Maligawa, the temple of the Tooth which preserves the relic of the Bouddha. Although taken by the Portuguese at the 16th century and the Dutchmen with the XVIIe, Kandy succeeds in preserving its independence until it is subjected by the British in 1815. Since, the city preserved its function of religious capital of Sri Lanka and remains a town of pilgrimage for the followers of the Bouddhisme theravâda.

The city

Kandy is located at 500 m of altitude in a small valley with the luxuriant vegetation. It developed according to two spaces: a rectangle of which one of the ends includes/understands the administrative buildings of the old capital and an artificial lake of quadrangular form, the work of last king de Kandy.

On northern bank of the lake enclosed by a white stone parapet, the official religious buildings of the city are of which the Royal palace and the Dâlada Maligawa. Rebuilt at the 18th century, this last takes as a starting point the architecture of the temples of the preceding capital, Anuradhapura. The temple was restored after the attack meurtier perpetrated by LTTE the January 25th 1998. All around the small town, one finds a certain number of monastery Buddhists.

Kandy is the seat of an important university and point of disjunction also one of most beautiful the botanical gardens in the world, that of Peradeniya created in 1821. The city is classified with the world heritage of UNESCO since 1988.

The festival of Perehera

Each summer in August takes place the festival of Randoli Perehera which sees a procession of elephant S and torches. The relic of the tooth of Buddha, locked up in a Mounting installed on oldest of the elephants of the Perahera (procession in Singhalese), is walked in the streets of the city on this occasion. The spectacle gathers a great number of srilankais as well as tourists. Ten nights during, of the elephants escort the relic of the tooth of Buddha in the streets of the city. The evening of full moon, the festival reaches its apogee: to hundred elephants ravel at the same time.

Leaders of Kandy

  • 1591-1604 : Vimala Dharma Sûrya I
  • 1604-1635: Senarat
  • 1635-1687 : Râjasimha II
  • 1687-1707: Vimala Dharma Sûrya II
  • 1707-1739: Narendra Sinha
  • 1739-1747 : Sri Vijaya Râjasinha
  • 1747-1763 : Kirti Sri Râjasinha
  • 1763 : Dutch administration
  • 1763-1782: Kirti Sri Râjasinha (restored)
  • 1782-1798: Râjadhi Râjasinha
  • 1798-1815 : Sri Vikrama Râjasinha

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