Polonnaruwa

7.942222222222281Koordinaten: 7 ° 57 'N, 81 ° 0' O

Polonnaruwa ( Sinhala: පොළොන්නරුව Polonnaruwa [ n ː ˌ polo aruʋə ], Tamil: பொலநறுவை Polanaṟuvai [ ˌ polə narɯʋɛi̯ ] ) is a city in the north central province of Sri Lanka. Since 1982 the Archaeological Park of Polonnaruwa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Remains of large Dagobas ( stupas ) and temples with numerous Buddha images, as well as gardens, parks and palaces and various buildings of a vast city make the system a main attraction of tourism. The still existing small town has about 13,000 inhabitants (as of 1981) and is the capital of the district of Polonnaruwa.

The city, whose name was called in Pali Pulatthinagara, is named after the sage Pulastya.

Capital of the second oldest kingdom of Sri Lanka Polonnaruwa had become by King Vijayabāhu I (reigned 1055-1110 ), who was able to beat the Chola invaders in 1070 and the country united again under local leadership. He decided not to make the 993 destroyed Anurādhapura back to the capital and took over the city founded by the Chola Polonnaruwa. Their bloom owed ​​the vast ancient city, however, his grandson Parakrama Bahu I (reigned 1153-1186 ). During this time, Polonnaruwa was also home to the Tooth Relic of Buddha, which is now preserved in Kandy.

Parakrama Bahus rule brought a golden age for Sri Lanka. Through numerous artificial lakes, such as the plant Parakrama Samudra of ( " Parakrama - Sea" ) at Polonnaruwa, and area-wide irrigation, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation could yield good returns even during the dry season.

Several invasions (including through Magha of Kalinga in 1214; Arya Chakravarti 1284) eventually led to the capital was moved to Dambadeniya.