Poḷonnaruwa is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka.Kaduruwela area is the Polonnaruwa New Town and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.Polonnaruwa was 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.While King Vijayabahu’s victory and shifting of kingdoms to the more strategic Polonnaruwa is considered significant, the real “Hero of Polonnaruwa” of the history books is actually King Parakramabahu I. It was his reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa. Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the king, who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land. Polonnaruwa was originally enclosed by three concentric walls and filled with parks and gardens. At the heart of the city lies the royal palace complex, while immediately to the north are the city’s most important cluster of religious buildings, the so-called Quadrangle, containing the finest group of remains in the city.Many ancient sites are in Polonnaruwa.Most important are Royal Palace, Audience Hall,King’s Swimming Pool,Sacred Quadrangle,Shiva Devale, Pabalu Vehera,Rankot Vihara,Kiri Vihara,Potgul Vehera, Lankatilaka, Thuparama,Gal Vihara, Parakrama Samudraya (man-made rainwater reservoir), Statue of King Parakramabahu,The Sathmahal Prasada,Hatadage and Atadage,
Recently,Polonnaruwa very famous with Disney documentary movie “Monkey Kingdom”.The movie ‘Monkey Kingdom’ was filmed in Polonnaruwa,the ancient city of Sri Lanka.
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
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