Bhaktapur

This article deals with the city in Nepal, for the district of the same name see Bhaktapur (district) .

Bhaktapur Nagarpalika भक्तपुर नगरपालिका Bhaktapur
Coordinates	27 ° 40 ′ 0 ″  N , 85 ° 25 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 27 ° 40 ′ 0 ″  N , 85 ° 25 ′ 0 ″  E
Basic data
Country	Nepal
province	Bagmati
District	Bhaktapur
height	1341 m
surface	6.9 km²
Residents	81,748 (2011)
density	11,882  Ew. / km²
founding	865 AD
Website	www.bkt-municipality.gov.np
17 administrative districts (wards) or 24 quarters (Tol)
Durbar Square

Pottery market with rice straw.

The Taumadhi Tole with its pagoda temples that shape the cityscape.

Bhaktapur ( Nepali भक्तपुर Bhaktapur "city of saints") or Khwopa ( newari ख्वप Khvapa ) is next to Kathmandu and Lalitpur with over 81,000 inhabitants, is the third and smallest of the royal cities of Kathmandu Valley in Nepal .

Bhaktapur is located on the Hanumante Khola River and, like Kathmandu, on an ancient trade route to Tibet , which was responsible for the city's wealth. The image of the city is determined by agriculture, the art of pottery and especially by a lively traditional music scene. Because of its over 150 music and 100 cultural groups, Bhaktapur is known as the capital of the performing arts of Nepal. The inhabitants of Bhaktapur are ethnically Newar and are characterized by a high proportion of 60 percent of farmers of the Jyapu caste. The residents are almost 90 percent Hindus and ten percent Buddhists. From the 14th century to the second half of the 18th century, Bhaktapur was the capital of the Malla Empire. Many of the 172 temples, the 32 artificial ponds and the houses decorated with wooden reliefs date from this time. A great earthquake in 1934 caused a lot of damage to the buildings, but these could be repaired in such a way that Bhaktapur's architectural heritage has been on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage since 1979 . Due to the earthquake on April 25, 2015 , around 200 people died in the old town when many smaller buildings and two large temples collapsed in the central Taumadhi Square .

At the 2011 census, the city of Bhaktapur had 81,748 inhabitants (41,081 of them male) in 17,639 households.

geography

Bhaktapur in the east of the Kathmandu valley, source: World Wind

Geographical location

Bhaktapur is located in the center of Nepal , 16 kilometers east of Kathmandu and is the administrative seat of the district of the same name , the smallest of the country's 75 districts. The urban area lies at an altitude between 1341 and 1404  m . Bhaktapur is bounded to the north by the Manohara River , to the east by Mount Mahadev Pokhari, to the south by Mount Suryavinayak and to the west also by the Manohara River and later by the Durge River . The city itself is north of the Hanumante Khola River, which is named after the monkey god Hanuman . After an episode from the Ramayana cycle, he is said to have paused to drink at the river when he returned from a trip to the Himalayas to collect medicinal herbs to save Rama's brother.

geology

Bhaktapur, in the background the Langtang Himal

Bhaktapur is located in the low mountain range, on the southern edge of the Himalayas in the Kathmandu valley. This valley with a north-south extension of 25 kilometers and an east-west extension of 19 kilometers is surrounded by a mountain range rising up to 2900 meters, with the valley floor at 1340 meters. The river system of the valley is independent of the high mountains and is drained by the Bagmati . Its tributary rivers include the Vishnumati , Moharana , Dhobi and Nakhu Kolar as well as the Hanumante, the river on which Bhaktapur lies. The fertile, alluvial soil of the Kathmandu valley is composed of sand and clay . The exact cause of the deposit is not yet known, but could be due to a lake that was formerly located here. Since Nepal is roughly where the Indian plate collides with the Eurasian plate , as a result of which the Himalayas are lifted out, earthquakes are frequent . The strongest earthquakes occurred in 1255 (magnitude 7.7), 1833 and 1934 (magnitude 8.4).

City structure

In 1961, with the introduction of the Panchayat system , the city was divided into 17 administrative districts (wards). The Newar city traditionally consists of 24 quarters, so-called tols . These are said to have been introduced by Ganga Devi, Trailokya Malla's mother, in the middle of the 16th century and initially comprised only 21 tols . The exact boundaries are not fixed, because the central elements of each tol are more important: a pitha (sacrificial shrine ), where either Ganesh , Bhairab or Durga is worshiped, a Vishnu temple, in which no animal sacrifices are offered, but flowers as well as uncut ones Stones, so-called matrikas , on which Ganesh or Bhairab are worshiped. While the pithas are oriented to the south, the Matrika shrines are oriented towards the city center. At the crossroads of the tol there are chwasa stones, called ajma ('grandmother'), on which the inhabitants of the tol deposit unclean food, the placenta and the umbilical cord of newborns, clothes from the deceased and once a year pottery that has become unusable. The tols play a central role in the city rituals, especially during the Bisket Jatra festival and during the city tours by the Nava Durga dancers. During the Bisket Jatra festival, the procession passes through the city in the following order of the tols .

Location of the 24 tols in Bhaktapur

1. Taulache 2. Tacapal 3. Kvathandau 4th gache 5. Thalache 6. Inaco

7. Golmadhi 8. Yache 9. Taumadhi 10. Talako 11. Mamgalache 12. Lakulache

13. Kvache 14. Tibukche 15. Lasku dhoka 16. Khauma 17. Itache 18. Yalache (Tibukche)

19th Coche 20. Bolache 21. Bholache 22. Jemla 23. Tekhaco 24. Bharbaco

In addition to the division into 17 wards and 24 tols, there is a division into two areas (Desas) : the upper town (Tham) with 15 tols in the east and the lower town (Kvane) with nine tols in the west. The border runs roughly in a north-south direction. The palace area is roughly in the middle, but the Tripurasundari area is in Thulache Tol to the east and today's palace in Lasu dhoka to the west.

climate

The city is located in the moderate climatic zone with a winter cold steppe climate. The average annual temperature in Bhaktapur is 18.4 ° C. The warmest months are June and July with an average of 27 and 25 ° C and the coldest December and January with an average of 11 and 10 ° C. The temperature almost never falls below freezing point, in return, temperatures above 30 ° C are rarely measured. Most of the precipitation falls in July with an average of 375 millimeters, the lowest in January and February with an average of 2 and 3 millimeters. Because of the summer monsoon , the precipitation falls particularly in the period from mid-June to the end of September, the annual average is 1249 millimeters.

Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Bhaktapur Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 16.5 18.5 23.2 26.8 27.7 27.8 26.6 26.6 25.8 24.6 21.1 17.8 O 23.6 Min. Temperature (° C) 3.7 4.9 8.6 12.7 15.9 18.6 19.2 18.8 17.6 13.9 8.0 4.2 O 12.2 Temperature (° C) 10 12 17th 19th 23 27 25th 23 22nd 18th 14th 11 O 18.4 Precipitation ( mm ) 2 3 19th 32 82 237 375 240 175 65 7th 12 Σ 1,249 Source: Data from Weatherclimat.com

history

The Nyatapola Temple

Early history

For the period from the 7th century BC to the 2nd century AD, a city culture of the Kiratis from northern India is assumed in Bhaktapur. The village is said to have borne the name Khopo . During the Licchavi era (3rd to 9th centuries AD) the city was called Khopring Drang . The Licchavi kings succeeded in building a state that could almost be called imperial, the expansion of which was not to be achieved again until the 18th century. At that time Kophring was expanded into a trading post and received the necessary administrative tasks. Almost nothing is known about the history of the city from the 9th to the 12th centuries. However, the introduction of a new era in the year 879 indicates a new ruling family, probably the Thakuris . In a manuscript from 1038 a village with the name Khrimprimbrumayam is mentioned at the place of today's Bhaktapur. The chronicle of Gopal Raj Vamsavali and other chronicles identify Anand Deva as the founder of the city of Bhaktapur in 1197. He is also said to have built the old royal palace which was named Tripura . At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries, Nepal fell victim to several invasions of its southern and western neighbors. Inscriptions show that there were five pillages each by the Khasa tribes and the Tirhutiyas. In 1290 the then Bhaktagramma ( gramma 'village'), since modern times Bhaktapur ( pura 'city'), was briefly conquered by the Tirhutiyas. When the Indian neighboring state of Mithila (in today's Bihar and Terai ) was conquered by Muslims in 1325 , the court of the local ruler Harasimha Deva, who died while fleeing, fled to Nepal and settled in Bhaktapur on the Tripura. The Malla rulers of the 17th century tried to portray themselves as direct descendants of the Ksatrya dynasty of the Harasimha Deva by manipulating their ancestry history. The climax of the invasions was the Muslim invasion in 1349 under Shams-ud-din from Bengal , in which the cities were largely destroyed.

Capital of the Malla Empire

Royal palace

Bhaktapur was the capital of the Malla Empire, which comprised the entire Kathmandu valley between the 14th century and the second half of the 18th century. During this time, many palaces and temples were built in Bhaktapur, some of which are still there today. The great influence of Hindu refugees from northern India led to a clear spatial separation of the individual castes within the urban area. In order to save agricultural land and because of the need to be close to the holy center of the city (in the case of Bhaktapur, the Taleju temple in the palace), the three-story houses are built to save space. Because of the lack of space in the houses, the streets and squares were shared.

After King Yakshya Malla came to power in 1428, he enlarged the Malla Empire and surrounded the city of Bhaktapur with moats, defensive walls and gates. Some historians attribute the establishment of Tripura to his reign and the founding of the Yaksheshwar Temple is also associated with him. After his death in 1482, his son Raya Malla ascended the throne of Bhaktapur. However, this turned out to be too gentle a ruler. His brother Ratna Malla established his own kingdom in 1484 in part of the Malla empire and ruled from Kantipur . Another brother split off Lalitpur / Patan as a third empire with its own capital. The empire of Bhaktapur was thus divided into the fragmentary empires Bhaktapur, Kantipur and Lalitpur.

Capital of the Malla sub-kingdom

No major structural changes have come down to us from the subsequent rulers of Bhaktapur - Pran Malla, Vishva Malla and Jagajyoti Malla. Only King Naresh Malla, in power since 1637, had the Taleju Temple renewed and some sandalwood windows built in the Mul Chowk. In 1644 King Jagatprakash Malla ascended the throne. He had a temple built in Vasantpur, but nothing is known about it. During his reign, the Taleju Temple was enlarged and a temple dedicated to Bhavani Shankar near the western entrance to the Royal Palace.

The reign of King Jitamitra Malla, who ascended the throne in 1672, was significant for the architectural and art history of Bhaktapur. In his time there was a kind of competition for the most beautiful royal palaces among the kings of the Kathmandu valley. An inscription from 1678 describes that the Thanathu Dubar royal palace with stone water dispensers, gardens and courtyard was built during his reign. He also had the Kumari Chowk renewed, the image of Astamatrika made and the roof of the Taleju Temple gilded. At his orders, the large bell was erected in the Taleju Temple and the intricately worked wooden tympanum was carved over the entrance to the Mul Chowk.

In 1696, Bhupatindra Malla ascended the throne. He had the large royal palace built with 99 courtyards and 55 windows. Since the city was the only one of the three royal cities to have its own routes to the north and south - Kathmandu had routes to the north, Patan to the south - it offered a direct connection between India and the Tibetan highlands. The Nepalese coins used in Tibet at the time are an indication of the great influence of the Newarian traders. From the reign of King Bhupatindra Malla , Bhaktapur had the exclusive right to mint coins for Tibet.

The division into three kingdoms had a positive influence on the building trade and art. The competitive thinking in the three ruling houses led to a competition in the construction of new and higher sacred buildings. The financing of these construction projects came on the backs of the Newarian traders, farmers and artisans, who were highly taxed. In 1768, after heavy fighting, Bhaktapur was conquered by the troops of King Prithvi Narayan Shah from Gorkha , who established the rule of the Shah dynasty over Nepal, which lasted until 2008 .

Modern times

The time since 1768 was shaped by the Shah dynasty; it can be divided into three major periods, the Shah period from 1768 to 1846, the Rana period from 1846 to 1951 and the modern period since 1951. In Europe, the temples of Bhaktapur were created by the drawings of the French archaeologist and ethnologist Gustave Le Bon known who visited India and Nepal in the 1880s. These images are of great value to this day, as a major earthquake of 1934 with a magnitude of 8.4 destroyed around 70 percent of the buildings.

During the Malla period, the added value from agriculture was invested in the temple facilities, plaza designs, infrastructure facilities and non-profit institutions. With the conquest by the Gurkhas , land ownership was reorganized, and large parts of the harvest now had to be paid as taxes to the ruler residing in Kathmandu. This added value skimming was invested there primarily for imported luxury goods. The previously closed cycle of the Malla period was broken and the urban character of Bhaktapur began to deteriorate. The siphoning off of surplus value resulted in the excessive courtship of the ministerial families during the Rana period.

German-language memorial stone at Lasku Dhwakha Platz with thanks to the Federal Republic of Germany for the reconstruction of the Chasilin Mandapa ("Pavilion of eight corners"), which was destroyed in 1934 and re-inaugurated on January 29, 1992

Furthermore, Bhaktapur had benefited from its monopoly on trade between India and Tibet for centuries . This went so far in the 19th century that cities on the connecting route, such as Bandipur , were decisively shaped by Newarian traders from Bhaktapur. After the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese and especially after the flight of the Dalai Lama and many of his followers in 1959, the border to Nepal was almost completely closed by Chinese authorities. As a result, the trade income from this area was completely eliminated, as was the sales market for handicrafts. The economy of the urban population sank to the subsistence level. This also explains the dominance of smallholder farms today. In 1979, the city's architectural heritage was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. An earthquake in 1990 caused structural damage again. The city has been charging an entrance fee since 1993, which is used for renovation work on the buildings or invested in infrastructure facilities and non-profit institutions. News of terrorist attacks in 2001 led to a temporary 50 percent drop in tourism in Nepal .

In a large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on April 25, 2015, which killed around 200 people in the collapse of many smaller buildings in the old town, the Fasidega Temple and the Vatsala Durga Temple became almost complete and Shiva -Temple partially destroyed.

Bhaktapur Development Project

The Bhaktapur Development Project (BDP) is a project founded in the 1970s with German help with the task of restoring culturally and historically valuable buildings in need of renovation. During an official visit in 1969, the Saarland Prime Minister Franz-Josef Röder gave the future King Birendra (1972–2001) DM 1 million to help restore the wedding. The restoration work on Pujari Math lasted until 1972. The German architects involved then organized further financial aid. These initiatives culminated in the establishment of the Bhaktapur Development Project in 1973/74 , which was carried out by the German side under the leadership of the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and was to become one of the longest and most successful projects in German development cooperation . The various construction projects in the 1970s and 1980s were supervised by the German professor for the history of architecture in Asia, Niels Gutschow, and the Austrian architect Götz Hagmüller. In 1974 only ten percent of the city was the focus of the project. In the first years up to 1979 the situation of the city had to be analyzed first in order to get enough data for the further planning of the work and for the development of a more comprehensive strategy. During this time, the project objectives were expanded to include other infrastructural (e.g. renewal of the pavement, construction of a sewage treatment plant), economic (planning an industrial area), social (training of craftsmen, participation of the population in planning and carrying out the work) and institutional areas (e.g. town planning).

population

Population development and structure

Bhaktapur age pyramid in 2001

The following table shows the development of the population of the city of Bhaktapur, which has almost doubled in the last 30 years. The population growth in 2001 was 2.4 percent (for comparison: Kathmandu 6 percent). Of the immigrants (especially due to rural exodus) to the Kathmandu valley, 84 percent go to Kathmandu, 15 percent to Lalitpur and only one percent to Bhaktapur.

year 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Residents 40.112 48,472 61,405 74,707 81,748

The marital status of the 58,726 marriageable residents of Bhaktapur is divided as follows: 38.4 percent are single, 56.6 percent (with one woman) and 0.8 percent (with several women) are married, 0.9 percent are remarried, 2.6 percent are widowed, 0.1 percent divorced and 0.13 percent separated (the status of 0.6 percent could not be determined).

Religions

The following values ​​were determined in the 2001 census: At 88 percent, the majority of the urban population belongs to Hinduism . The second largest community are Buddhists with 11 percent. The number of members of the other religions is negligible: Muslims 0.2 percent, Christians 0.2 percent, Kirat 0.1 percent, Sikhs 0.01 percent and Baha'i less than 0.01 percent. 0.06 percent remained unknown in the survey.

The Newar

→ Main article : Newar

Sajani Shakya, the 2007 Kumari of Bhaktapur, during her visit to the US film festival Silverdocs

By far the largest proportion of the population in Bhaktapur are the Newar, a traditionally trading ethnic group. In Bhaktapur, 84.13 percent of the Newar are Hindus and 15.31 percent are Buddhists. The Hindu Newar have developed their own caste system only for the residents of the Kathmandu Valley. This system was partially adopted by the Buddhist Newar. In general, this caste system is weak and has never been able to assert itself as strongly in the egalitarian Newari community as in other ethnic groups. The caste hierarchy comprises a superordinate and a subordinate group, which are further subdivided into the upper and middle classes as well as the impure and untouchable .

A component of the religious understanding of the Newari is the Kumari , which is worshiped as the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga . She is selected from the Shakya caste of the Buddhist Newar and is considered a "living goddess" by Hindus and Nepalese Buddhists until her first menstruation . There are several Kumaris in Nepal, including Bhaktapur.

So-called Guthis , caste-oriented organizations with diverse social functions, form an important component in the social structure , because they grant their members private or municipal services in return for contributions. In Bhaktapur, the Sana Guthis are differentiated from the Devali Guthis.

politics

The mayor of Bhaktapur has been Sunil Prajapati since 2017.

After the 1997 elections, the 19 seats of the city council had the following distribution: 17 seats NWPP (Nepal Worker and Peasant Party) , 1 seat NC ( Nepali Congress ) , 1 seat RPP (Rashtriya Prajatantra Party) . New elections are scheduled for 2008.

Bhaktapur currently has no partnership with any city, but has been in negotiations with the UNESCO World Heritage City of Lijiang in the People's Republic of China since October 2007 .

Culture and sights

music

With over 150 music groups, Bhaktapur has a rich reservoir of musicians, especially drummers of the dhimay , a double-headed cylinder drum common in the Kathmandu Valley. But also players of the bamboo flute bansuri and vocal groups are numerous. As a special feature of the few Navadapha groups, the singing is accompanied by nine ( nava ) different drums ( dapha ). Each of these drums has its own repertoire and its own variety. Sometimes they are only played by a single player in succession. Bhaktapur is also home to the members of the Mahakali pyakhan dance troupes, who perform every year in Kathmandu at the Indra Jatra , a festival at the end of the rainy season in September.

Festivals of traditional music are held regularly, for example the 1990 "Festival of Traditional Music Dhin Dha Tum Tak". Traditional musical instruments of Nepal are shown in a permanent exhibition in a branch of the Department of Music of the University of Kathmandu in Bhaktapur. This branch, which is unique in Asia, was set up in 1996 and has since been headed by the German professor of ethnomusicology Gert-Matthias Wegner. It offers a musical education in music ethnology. The most successful ensemble to date are the “Masterdrummers of Nepal”, who have already toured Germany , Italy and the Czech Republic with their ten members .

Public places

Taumadhi Square from Nyatapola Temple

The Königsplatz Lasku Dhwakha (Durbar Square), the square in front of the palace of the Malla rulers, is probably less pompous than the squares in Kathmandu because of its political insignificance after the conquest by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768 and the severe destruction in the 1934 earthquake and Patan. However, some temples were rebuilt through German development cooperation projects. The place is closed to car traffic. To the southeast of Durbar Square is Taumadhi Square.

Dattatraya Square dominates the Upper City, to the east of Bhaktapur. This square with a length of 80 meters and a width of 25 meters runs in an east-west direction and should have had a central function at the beginning of the city's history.

Taumadhi Square forms the center of the lower city in the west. Its north-south orientation is shifted 20 degrees to NE-SW. The current open space in front of the Bhairab Temple is almost square with a side length of 40 meters. On the south side, however, only relatively new private houses demarcate Taumadhi Square from the square around Tilmadhava Temple and the Ga Hiti area. Without these houses, the entire area would be around 130 meters long. Other places are the two in the pottery district.

The Royal Palace with the Golden Gate

The Golden Gate at the Royal Palace

“Nag Pokhari” fountain in the Royal Palace

The palace of Bhaktapur with the Golden Gate (Lu Dhawka) is probably the oldest palace in the Kathmandu valley . In contrast to the palaces in Kathmandu or Patan, it emerged from a fortress. In the cities mentioned, the main road leads directly past the palace, while in Bhaktapur it is well south of it. The connection to the Taumadhi Tole was only created in the 18th century. The main sanctuary of the palace is the Taleju Shrine, which is located in Mul Chowk . During the flight of King Harisimhadeva from Muslim troops in 1324 with his court and his household goddess Taleju , the goddess led him to Bhaktapur. The effect of the goddess on the inhabitants of Bhaktapur was so strong that they handed over the palace and rule in the city to Harisimhadeva . Then Harisimhadeva built the Mul Chowk for Taleju . This temple courtyard was the centerpiece, in front of which other courtyards were later placed, which were built without reference to a square in front and were only later presented with a facade. The first reliable information about buildings of the Malla rulers comes from the year 1435. First King Yaksha-Malla built a citadel for troops and weapons and fortifications around the entire city. In 1460 he built the Yaksheshvara temple on the plateau in front of the palace . The expansion of today's palace goes back mainly to Jagatprakasha-Malla and Jitamitra-Malla . The statue in front of the palace of King Bhupatindra-Malla testifies to his initiative for an architectural connection to the Taumadhi Tole. With the construction of the Sundhoka , the gateway to the Mul Chowk, under King Ranjit-Malla, construction work on the palace came to an end in the Malla period. Between the Palace of 55 Windows, which was built around 1700, and the Malati Chowk to the west is the Golden Gate. It is made of gold-plated copper and is an important example of Nepalese craftsmanship. Here you can see the ten-armed and four-headed Taleju, the patron goddess of the Mallas. The gate is said to have been added to the palace front under King Ranajit Malla in 1753. Above the adjoining stone walls is the wooden palace balcony with 55 artistically carved wooden windows. In the first half of the 19th century, part of the main building was demolished and a high hall building was added instead. Today the palace area has been largely destroyed due to the earthquake in 1934 and only vaguely conveys an idea of ​​its former state. The main front was restored, but entire courtyard complexes are missing inside, so that today an impression of space-like expanse is created.

Temple complexes

The temple complexes of the city of Bhaktapur include over 170 individual temples. The following particularly striking structures are therefore only a small selection.

The Nyatapola Pagoda in Taumadhi Square

The Nyatapola Temple ( nyata 'five-story'; pola 'steps'), the tallest temple in the Kathmandu Valley, is located in Taumadi Square and is dedicated to the deity Lakshmi . The 30 meter high five-story temple was completed in 1708 and, thanks to its construction, survived the great earthquake of 1934.

The pagoda stands on a stepped base with five terraces. The stairs that lead up this plinth are flanked by a different pair of figures on each floor. Inside the temple there is a statue of the deity Siddhilakshmi Bhavani, the greatest and most powerful tantric deity. That is why the Nyatapola Temple is also known as the Temple of the Terrible. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.

Bhairavnath

The Bhairavnath Temple is dedicated to Bhairava , a form of Shiva . A temple dedicated to this deity stood on this site as early as 1600. In contrast to the Nyatapola Temple, the Bhairavnath Temple has a rectangular floor plan. The fact that the cult image is not, as is usually the case, on the level of the entrance, but on an upper floor, suggests that the Bhairava temple has its origins in an urban residential building. This would also explain that the building does not have any kind of pedestal, which is otherwise the basis of every Nepalese temple. The temple, which was initially built as a single storey, was expanded by two storeys around 1718, probably for cultic reasons.

The Dattatraya Temple ( Datta 'gods'; traya 'three') was built in 1427 under the rule of Yaksha Malla (1428–1482) and is dedicated to the three main Hindu deities Vishnu , Shiva and Brahma . It is said to have been built from the trunk of a single tree. In 1458 it was partially renewed on the orders of King Vishwa Malla (1547-1560). It is a mighty three-storey building of an archaic type that is otherwise unusual in the Kathmandu valley. In 1860 a porch was added in the west, as well as two wrestlers Jai Malla and Patta . The Tachapal Tole square, dominated by the Dattatraya Temple , has largely retained its shape, in contrast to the palace district.

The Nava Durga Temple is the main shrine of the Nine Durgas , the mother goddesses of Bhaktapur. An enclosed courtyard adjoins the two-storey wide wing. The Vakupati Narayana Temple is a small two-story Vishnu temple from 1638 that contains a Garuda column from 1408 and famous metalwork. The Chandi-Bhagavati-Shrine is a small newer sanctuary with a relief from the 14th century, on which Durga (Bhagavati) kills the two demons Chandi and Munda. The archaic Dattatreya temple , a mighty three-storey building, is a rather unusual type in the Kathmandu valley. Other large temples are the Vatsala Temple , the Yaksheshvara Temple , the Dvarikanath Temple , the Changu Temple , the Bishnu Bir Temple , the Bode Temple , the Bode Bihar Temple , the Chode Ganesh Temple and the Dachhin Barah Temple .

Museums

Peacock window

The National Art Gallery was established in 1960 and is located on Durbar Square. She has a large collection of ancient thangka paintings and a wide variety of classic and medieval masterpieces made of wood, stone and metal. The building itself is an old Malla palace which still contains a large number of the original wall paintings from the Malla period.

The Wood Carving Museum is located in the Pujari Math , a 19th century building with many rich and detailed wood carvings on the doors and windows. Particularly noteworthy is the so-called peacock window in the alley on the east side, southeast of Taumadhi Square. The exhibition itself shows many wooden objects in their style development.

The Bronze and Brass Museum is opposite the Wood Carving Museum. The exhibition shows various metalwork for ceremonies, but also metal household goods. The collection includes ritual lamps, traditional hanging lamps, jugs for ceremonies, water vessels, saucepans, oil vessels, paint pots, etc. Ä. from the Middle Ages.

Events and festivals

Religious festivals and ceremonies

A large number of festivals are held in Bhaktapur each year, the most famous of which are Bisket Jatra and Gai Jatra . Over 150 music groups and more than 100 cultural groups enable a multi-layered, cultural life in Bhaktapur. Basanta Panchami takes place in January / February , where Sarasvati is worshiped, the deity of art and science. In February, Sherpas and Tibetans celebrate the transition into the New Year with Losar . March is Holi , the festival of colors. The festival itself only lasts one day, but preparations start seven days in advance. Color powder is mixed with water and filled into balloons. These are thrown and, when bursting, release their colored content over the clothes of the person hit.

The general processional way

In Hinduism, the Pradakshina is a procession in which certain places are visited in a fixed order in order to connect the spatially separated places through the ritual. The Hindu processions in Bhaktapur follow a fixed route, the shape and sequence of which allows indications of the topographical urban development. The processions move clockwise through the city, with the main street being walked in an east-west direction first, followed by Durbar Square and the northern districts to Dattatreya Square. All ritually independent tols are crossed (cf. city ​​structure ). The ring-shaped processions through the entire city only take place at the beginning of the New Year (Bisket) and on the Remembrance Day (Gai Jatra) .

The Bisket Jatra car festival

Procession float ( Ratha )

The most important festival is Bisket Jatra , the chariot festival. It is celebrated on the 28th Chaitra (March / April) and the 5th Baisak (April / May) and was introduced by Jagajjyotri Malla (1613–1637). The wooden chariot of Bhairava is being assembled in Taumadhi Square today. It was originally built in front of the Shiva Temple on Khauma Square, which was the architectural model of the processional float. But the collapse of the temple and the construction of a gate led to the relocation of the wagon construction site. The festival itself is a kind of competition between the residents of the upper and lower towns. People from both cities pull in opposite directions on long ropes attached to the front and back of the drawbars of the processional float. During the festival, the three-story car, which has rigid axles, is navigated through the streets in such a way that it can reach certain places within the city. On the first and last day, however, both sides will pull competitively and try to pull the car on the main street as far as possible into the upper or lower town.

Panchadana

During the procession for the Buddhist Panchadana festival, five Buddha statues are carried through the city. Members of the Guthis , land foundations with religious tasks, carry the hollow figures to the next station. The Buddhas are received at fixed locations by the residents of the surrounding houses by washing their feet, lighting lamps and giving offerings. In some inner courtyards, the house Buddhas and thangkas are also exhibited on this day . The procession of the Buddhas is different from the general processional routes. It begins with the oldest monastery in the east and seeks out all Buddhist monasteries and stupas in an east-west direction. Since the order is determined by the age and importance of the monasteries, this results in a very winding route through the upper town. At the transition from the upper to the lower town, the Buddhas are bid farewell and then the procession continues through the lower town. In the lower town, the location of the monasteries follows the regular processional route, but in reverse order (counterclockwise). Upon reaching the upper town, the festival ends with a farewell ceremony.

Indra Jatra and Bhairab Nath

The Indra Jatra festival begins at the Dyochen (community hall of a district with a cult image) on Khauma Square. The statue of the goddess Indrayani is carried on a stretcher in a procession through the city. On the first day of the full moon day in the month of Bhadra , she follows the processional path through the lower city. Then she stays at Siddha Pokhari and visits the upper town on the second day, following the general processional route. In the end, she arrives back in her day.

The Bhairab Nath takes place at the same time as the celebration of the Day of the Dead (Gai Jatra) . The procession begins in Taumadhi Square at the temple of the god Bhairab and leads through the lower city on the first day. The second day is followed by the procession, which is largely based on the usual processional route, through the upper town.

Funerary and the ancestral cult Gai Jatra

In the Hindu ritual of the dead, the social bond between the extended family and the spatial environment is shown. Sacrifice and purification ceremonies cover the individual house, the district, the city or the country. Elements of the ancestral cult are included in almost all festivals. There are several central cremation sites ( ghats ) along the Hanumante river . On Wari Ghat purification ceremonies take place at pari Ghat , the death rites of the population of the surrounding villages. The Dubenkegu Ghat is the place of death for the residents of Bhaktapur who do not die in the house, because in Hinduism dying at a sacred river is considered a favorable starting point for the transmigration of souls. The so-called Dewalist stones have a special meaning within the ancestor cult. The six Muslim families have their own small cemetery.

Infrastructure and economy

Telecommunications and general infrastructure

In Bhaktapur, 4,000 households are connected to the telephone network. The streets are lit by 95 street lamps and there is a post office. There are seven public toilets, three banks and six money exchange offices.

traffic

Relief map of the Kathmandu valley with the location of the three royal cities (streets only shown symbolically)

Bhaktapur is located on the Araniko Highway , the main road from Kathmandu to the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge on the border with Tibet. While this is four lanes in the direction of Kathmandu to Bhaktapur with Japanese help, it is in poor condition on the way to the Chinese border and is sometimes inaccessible due to landslides. Two roads lead north and northeast from Bhaktapur, one to Changu Narayan and a second to Nagarkot .

In contrast to Kathmandu, the inner city of Bhaktapur is heavily traffic-calmed; Apart from supply vehicles, only a few cars drive. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the large number of motorcycles, which are also used in the smallest alleys with considerable noise production. Nevertheless, the noise pollution is significantly lower than in Kathmandu. However, this does not apply to air pollution (especially fine dust pollution), which is at least temporarily higher in Bhaktapur than in Kathmandu. Operation of the Kathmandu trolleybus between Koteswor (Kathmandu) and Bhaktapur, which was opened in 1975, has ceased. Five of the former 32 Chinese trolleybuses last operated on the route, which was shortened from 13 to five kilometers, with three courses every 20 to 25 minutes. The stations used to be served every six minutes.

About 10 kilometers west of Bhaktapur is the Tribhuvan International Airport , the only international airport in Nepal.

Agriculture and industry

Drying rice at the pottery market

Dyed textiles drying on Nag Pokhari

The proportion of the female (29,191) and male (29,534) able-bodied population is roughly the same. Overall, about 43 percent are considered by the 58,726 men and women without work classified. The proportion of unemployed men, at 30.4 percent, is significantly lower than that of women, at 55.7 percent.

At present, 60 percent of Bhaktapur's residents work in agriculture. In the early 1980s it was 82 percent, but the number is falling much more slowly than in Kathmandu, for example. Since the establishment of the first industrial park in Kathmandu in 1950, steps towards industrialization have also been tried in Bhaktapur. As a prerequisite for this, the Khwopa Engineering College was established, which offers four to five year courses in various engineering subjects (earthquake technology, civil engineering, urban development, electrical engineering, computer science, architecture).

The traditional production of textiles, especially cotton fabrics, has meanwhile developed into industrial production. Several large companies produce in the industrial district of Bhaktapur, for example Ishan Textile, founded in 1995 with 30 industrial and 100 hand looms and 200 employees, or Bhaktapur Dyeing with 50 employees. Other companies in this area are Kriti Textile Industries, Nepo Industries, Sambridhi Textile and Shivababa Textile. The largest producer of hand-woven wool and cotton textiles is Bhaktapur Traditional Cotton Textile with 285 employees.

The production of bricks has also taken on industrial dimensions. For example, the Bhaktapur Brick Factory , which was built in 1964 with Chinese help and has been independent since 1975, has around 100 employees and produces between 6 and 18 million bricks of various quality levels annually.

Crafts

In the Newarian caste hierarchy, the builders (bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters) belong to the upper middle class and the potters, blacksmiths and picture painters belong to the lower middle class. In contrast, the dyers, tailors, tanners, drum makers and musicians are impure and belong to the lower class.

Pottery in Bhaktapur

The potters pass on their knowledge from father to son. After the harvest, the clay is extracted from the rice fields. The clay is transported with the help of a shoulder yoke from which two baskets hang. The potter needs three types of earth to produce workable clay. Three quarters of it consists of white earth that is extracted from the base of the Boday hill. The last quarter consists of red earth and black earth. The collected earth is kept on the ground floor of the house. If clay is needed, the potter kneads it with his feet on the ground. He mixes with water and sand until the desired consistency is achieved. Two techniques are used to make pottery. Processing on the potter's wheel or with the modeling hammer. The pottery wheel made of hardwood is set in rotation with a wooden stick according to the flywheel principle and then the pots are formed. Finished pottery is dried in the sun for two to five days. Some are rubbed with red or yellow clay water. For firing, the pottery is placed in a large hollow, covered with rice straw and covered with sand. Small air holes allow a three to four day fire. Since the goods are fired below 1200 ° C, they remain porous and do not receive any glaze.

Carving

The carpenters have been able to preserve many traditional techniques to this day. The carving craft produced its greatest achievements during the Malla period. The magnificent windows, ornate bay windows, richly decorated doors and relief-like roof supports still bear witness to the once highly developed art. The rich traditional knowledge was under pressure due to the concrete construction, but is increasingly being used again in the course of restoration and renewal. The carved products caught the taste of tourists and were increasingly in demand. The craft of wood carving then developed so strongly that it was able to take part in the international world exhibition Expo 2000 in Hanover .

A craft that has developed strongly again in the last few decades is the production of hand-made paper. Although this form of paper production has been a tradition in Nepal for a thousand years, the competition from machine-made paper since the market was opened in 1959 almost made the original craft die out. The revived demand for handmade paper led to the founding of Bhaktapur Craft Paper (BCP) by UNICEF Nepal and the Nepalese government in 1981 . BCP has been economically independent since 1995.

The Thangka -Painting can look back on a long tradition in Bhaktapur. The Lama Thangka Center , established in 1973, offers the opportunity to train as a traditional thangka painter in an affiliated school.

tourism

About 200,000 tourists visit the city every year. On individual days it can be up to 1,200, and the growth rate in visitor numbers is 15 percent. From the entrance fees (1993: US $ 1, 1995: US $ 5, 2001: US $ 10, 2012: US $ 15) the city pays the maintenance of 172 temples, 256 inner courtyards, 77 stone water dispensers, 152 fountains , 36 artificial ponds, 37 Sattals (two-storey, open-front assembly building) and 19 Maths (teaching building of Hinduism). The “Barahi Movies” cinema shows films in four halls. Bhaktapur has eleven hotels with a total of 231 beds in 130 rooms. An average of 22,000 visitors stay in the city each year. The average length of stay is two nights. Eight cafés and five restaurants with a total of 495 seats are available to cater for the guests. Art and pottery products are sold in 225 souvenir shops. The vast majority (77%) of Bhaktapur's visitors are day tourists who only stay in the city for a few hours. Only 6.5% stay overnight in Bhaktapur for one night, around 8% for a week and 8.5% for more than a week. Over 68% of tourists come to Bhaktapur as part of group tours.

Water supply

Salan Ganesh Pokhari

Well system in the center of Bhaktapur

Siddha Pokhari, 15th century

One of the outstanding achievements of the Newarian cities is the infrastructural equipment of the water supply. It is based on a system of Tala tunchi (deep wells), Hiti (water dispensers) and Pokhari (water reservoirs). Of the latter there are still about 32 in Bhaktapur. Some of the oldest Pokharis on the outskirts were probably created naturally and were later converted into retention basins for spring water. The capacities vary between 30 and over 10,000 cubic meters. The four largest Pokharis are the Na Pukhu with 10,640 m³, the Yatu baha Pokhari with 10,458 m³, the Bhaju Pukhu with 9,322 m³ and the Bhaju Pukhu with 6,160 m³. The snake symbolizes the symbolic character of water for fertility. Nag-Pokhari lies on the northern border of the Yache-Tols . It is of great importance for the dyers who live by the pond, because they use it to wash their wool and to use the water for the dyeing operations in the backyards.

The oldest parts of the water supply are the drinking water wells called Tala tunchi . The round fountains with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 meters are located throughout the city within enclosed courtyards and in squares. Their depth varies with the groundwater level and is between two and seven meters. Specially shaped bricks, so-called Tunsa Apa , are used for the substructure, and natural stones for the top cover. Connected to the wells is a system of drinking water basins, which probably dates back to the 10th century before Bhaktapur became Hindu. These pools, called Ja Dhun , are about 1 × 0.5 × 0.5 meters in size and covered with a stone plate. A pipe on the front that can be closed with a wooden plug enables drinking water to be drawn off. Because of its arched shape, these drinking water basins are also called "water cows". The base and lid are decorated with plant motifs. The importance of the wells as a source of drinking water has decreased significantly with the expansion of the Hitis .

The water dispensers, called in Nepali Dhara and in Sanskrit Hiti , are made of brick and natural stone and were probably introduced with Hinduism. Building it is considered a good deed. In the past, they were mainly built along the trade routes, mostly at covered resting places for traders and pilgrims. The Hitis are richly decorated, the importance of the water supply for daily life and the corresponding integration into the world of faith. The great majority of the Hitis have the water inlet in the north and the outlet in the south. The water supply is ensured by a widely ramified canal system into which a main canal (Rajkulo) leads water from over six kilometers away. In the case of some Hitis, a filter system consisting of individual chambers filled with ash, gravel or clay was installed upstream of the inflow to clean the water.

Sewerage and waste disposal

In the early 1980s, Bhaktapur had an increasing problem with the old canal system. The partially open masonry channels were often clogged with rubbish and formed dangerous sources of infection. Although there were so-called street wipers, they often did not do their job because of insufficient pay. Since the feces ended up in the street ditches, which were a popular playground for children, up to 50 percent of the children fell ill with a wide variety of diseases. The inner courtyards were also increasingly becoming garbage pits that collected waste and sewage from the kitchens. Here, too, the street wipers refused their traditional cleaning duties and only worked in exchange for immediate cash payment. Only a targeted waste disposal program (solid waste management) launched in the 1990s brought about a change. The long-term disposal of the waste is ensured with 44 sweepers and 16 mechanical cleaning aids. A compost recycling area was set up to dispose of the waste. The amount of garbage to be disposed of every day is 0.386 kilograms per person, a total of 20 tons. Around 70 percent of this is organic waste. The wastewater is now discharged through 29.20 kilometers of drainage.

Health and other administration

There are four hospitals in Bhaktapur, two of which have 80 beds: the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, the Bhaktapur Hospital, the Nepal TB Hospital and the SAARC -TB center.

There are four health stations and six ambulances for emergency care, such as the Bhaktapur ambulance, the Gothatar VDC ambulance and the Thimi ambulance.

The municipal vehicle fleet also includes three fire engines, two police vehicles and a van for the deceased.

Education

Schoolgirls in school uniform in Bhaktapur

The literacy rate is 58.9 percent. Another four percent (2,876) of city residents can only read, but not write. Among the 17,000 or so illiterate people, it is noticeable that the proportion of women (11,828) is more than twice as high as the proportion of men (5,007). Of the 27,800 school-age children in 2001, 73.2 percent (20,341) attended school and 26.8 percent (7459) did not. The proportion of male and female students was about the same.

The Shiddidas High School is a school founded in 2007, which is the first to use Newari as the language of instruction in addition to Khas and English . The school goes up to the tenth grade. There are more than 27 schools in the urban area of ​​Bhaktapur. The school institutions - including private schools - are divided as follows: 43 elementary schools (Primary) , eleven secondary schools (Lower Secondary) , 20 secondary schools (Secondary) , three higher secondary schools (Higher Secondary) and four campuses. The three secondary schools are Mount Everest Higher Secondary School , Bagishwor Higher Secondary School, and Springdale Higher Secondary School . The schools with campus are the Learners Academy , Unique International Academy , Everest High School, and Shree Padma High School .

Personalities

Former Malla kings of Bhaktapur

The Malla royal dynasty ("wrestlers") was founded by Jaya Sthiti and lasted until it was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah Dev from the city of Gorkha in 1768.

Total kingdom of the Malla kings

• 1382-1395 Jaya Sthiti Malla
• 1395–1408 Jyotir Malla (together with Dharma Malla and Kiti Malla)
• 1408-1428 Jyotir Malla
• 1428-1482 Yaksa Malla
• 1482-1505 Raya Malla

City Kingdom of Bhaktapur

• 1505-1519 Suvarna Malla
• 1519-1547 Prana Malla
• 1547-1560 Visuva Malla
• 1560-1613 Trailokya Malla
• 1613-1637 Jagajjyoti Malla
• 1637-1644 Naresha Malla
• 1644–1673 Jagat Prakash Malla
• 1663-1696 Jitamitra Malla
• 1696-1722 Bhupatindra Malla
• 1722–1769 Ranajit Malla (1762–1763 in personal union King of Lalitpur)

→ See also: List of the kings of Nepal

Personalities associated with the city

In 2001 the Swiss geologist and pioneer of development cooperation Toni Hagen (1917–2003) was honored by the city of Bhaktapur for his contribution to promoting understanding between different ethnic groups, religions and cultures across national and international borders.

Culinary specialties

Nepalese yogurt dahi

The Newar prepare special dishes and drinks for the various festivals. The best known is the dahi (दही), a special yogurt dish. The beer-like thwon , which is available in red and white, is an indispensable part of the Newar ceremonies. The Chatanmari is a kind of crepe made from rice. Chwela and Kachila , on the other hand, are specially prepared meat dishes from the water buffalo. The most popular dessert is probably lakhamari , which is made from flour, sugar, and butter.

Media, literature and filmography

Film set for Little Buddha , 1992

The plot of some novels is set in Bhaktapur and the surrounding area:

• Nina Rauprich (1995): The Drummers of Bhaktapur. Stuttgart, Vienna, ISBN 3-522-16894-1
• Friedrich Tübergen (2005): The Kumari of Bhaktapur: a novel spiced with erotic piquancy. Stockach, ISBN 3-9807656-4-4

Due to the historical structure of the building, Bhaktapur is ideal as a background for various film and television projects. The following list shows a selection of films partly shot in Bhaktapur:

• 1985: Navabaja von Bhaktapur (38 min.), Director: Gert-Matthias Wegner
• 1988: Powaqqatsi , directed by Godfrey Reggio
• 1989: Dance of Death by Bhaktapur (20 min.), Director: Gert-Matthias Wegner
• 1992: Baraka , directed by Ron Fricke
• 1994: Little Buddha , directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
• 2000: Treasures of the world: royal cities at the foot of the Himalayas (14 min.), SWR , director: Elke Werry
• 2005: Handling death: the dynamics of death and ancestor rituals among the Newars of Bhaktapur, Nepal (Ethno-indology 3). DVD-Video by Niels Gutschow, Axel Michaels.
• 2006: Punam (27 min.), Directed by Lucian and Natasa Muntean ( Lunam Docs )
• 2008: Living Goddess (86 min.), Directed by Ishbel Whitaker

Bibliography and map index

literature

• Gerhard Auer and Niels Gutschow: Bhaktapur. Shape, functions and religious symbolism of a Nepalese city in the pre-industrial development stage. Technical University of Darmstadt, 1974.
• Ashok Byanju: Urban Tourism and Poverty Reduction; A Case Study of Bhaktapur Municipality, Nepal. 2001, .pdf (English).
• Alex Künzle, Giovanni Scheibler: Bhaktapur; medieval city in Nepal. Zurich 1977, ISBN 3-7281-0169-9 .
• Niels Gutschow: Dead rituals in Bhaktapur, Nepal: mourning and lamentation as phases of purification and reintegration. In: Farewell to the Dead. Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-89244-951-1 , pp. 151-180.
• Niels Gutschow: Art in ritual: the craft of painters in Bhaktapur / Nepal. Schüttorf, 2006, ISBN 3-938263-10-5 .
• Thomas Hoffmann: The potters from Bhaktapur. In: South Asia. No. 16, No. 5, 1996, pp. 63-64.
• Giovanni Scheibler: Building in developing countries using the example of Bhaktapur. Contribution to the discussion on the problems of “adapted technology”, “building in a historical context” and “technology transfer”. Dissertation, ETH Zurich , 1982.
• Kurt Stürzbecher: Bhaktapur: Architecture and urban development in the Kathmandu valley. Breitenbach, Saarbrücken u. a. 1981, ISBN 3-88156-185-4 .
• Bhai Kaji Tiwari: The 55-window palace in Bhaktapur: an example of Nepalese architecture and monument preservation. Aachen 1999.

cards

• Bhaktapur (His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Survey Department 2785 06B), scale 1: 25,000. Kathmandu 1998 (English)
• Bhaktapur (Bhādgaõn), Nagarkot (with city map of Bhaktapur), scale 1: 25,000. Kathmandu 2000 (English)

Web links

Commons : Bhaktapur  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Bhaktapur  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wikiquote: Bhaktapur  - Quotes

• Bhaktapur Tourism Development Committee (English)
• Website about Bhaktapur (English)
• Website from Bhaktapur (English)
• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kathmandu University Department of Music ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
2. ↑ World Heritage List No. 121 (English)
3. ↑ Tagesschau.de of April 28, 2015: Nobody helps us .
4. ↑ http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/VDC_Municipality.pdf ( Memento from July 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) National Population and Housing Census 2011
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Stürzbecher (1981), pp. 15-22.
6. ↑ Inu Pradhan Salike, Lena Saptalena, Ngoc Nhu Uyen Vo, Ruprama Rai, Suman Salike, Tobias Kühner: Urban Risk Management: Case Study Kathmandu Valley, Nepal . Semester project 2007/2008 at the Institute of Technologies in the Tropics, Cologne University of Applied Sciences, ( PDF , English).
7. ↑ Chronology of the earthquakes in Nepal ( memento of the original from October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
8. ↑ Stürzbecher (1981), pp. 57-60, 256-260.
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Stürzbecher (1981), pp. 66-75
10. ↑ Data from Weatherclimat.com ( memento of the original dated December 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and climate data 
11. ↑ ^{a b c} Website of the Department of Archeology html ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
12. ↑ Scheibler (1982), p. 75.
13. ^ Gustave le Bon (1886, 1893): Voyage au Népal . with an introduction by TN Upraity and G. Lebrec (French), ISBN 974-8304-11-6
14. ↑ Scheibler (1982), p. 16 f.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Paul Bawole (2007): Informal settlements on riverbanks in vulnerable urban areas of Indonesia . Diss. Urban Development Institute, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Stuttgart PDF , p. 11 f.
16. ↑ CRIEnglish.com: Nepal's UNESCO World Heritage Sites Destroyed by Earthquake. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 . 
17. ↑ BBC: Nepal's Kathmandu valley treasures: Before and after. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 . 
18. ↑ CRIEnglish.com: Nepal's UNESCO World Heritage Sites Destroyed by Earthquake. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 . 
19. ↑ CRIEnglish.com: Nepal's UNESCO World Heritage Sites Destroyed by Earthquake. April 28, 2015, accessed April 28, 2015 . 
20. ↑ Bhaktapur im Reise Know-how html and Nepal reserch center html ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
21. ↑ Biography ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and article from: Die Zeit 48/1997 
22. ↑ Biresh Shah (2003): Heritage Conservation and Planning New Development in Bhaktapur, Nepal . Presented at the 6th US / ICOMOS International Symposium “Managing Conflict & Conservation in Historic Cities” April 24-27, 2003 in Annapolis, Maryland. html, engl. ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
23. ↑ Pravakar Pradhan and Ranjith Perera (2005): Urban Growth and Its Impact on the Livelihoods of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal . (UMP-Asia Occasional Paper No. 63) pdf ( Memento of April 29, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (English), pp. 14, 30.
24. ↑ ^{a b c} Bushan Tuladhar and Anish Bania (1997): Technical and Economic Analysis of Bhaktapur Compost Plant - Nepal , pp. 13–15 PDF  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
25. ↑ ^{a b c d} Nepal Census Data 2001 (English)
26. ↑ ^{a b} Künzle / Schreiber (1977), p. 15 f.
27. ↑ Krishna Hachhethu: Municipality Leadership and Governance; A Case Study of Bhaktapur . PDF (English)
28. ↑ Start of the election campaign  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
29. ↑ City news sheet from March 2008 pdf ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
30. ↑ See Gert-Matthias Wegner (1986). The Dhimaybaja of Bhaktapur - Studies in Newar drumming I . Stuttgart; That. (1987): Navadapha of Bhaktapur - Repertoire and Performance of the Ten Drums , in: N. Gutschow and A. Michaels, Nepalica 4/22; That. (1988): The Naykhinbaja of the Newar Butchers - Studies in Newar Drumming II . Stuttgart.
31. ↑ Cf. Dieter Sulzer (2005): Bhaktapur bããsuri khalah: Flute groups of the Newar peasant caste in the Kathmandu valley. PDF . Zurich.
32. ↑ Gert-Matthias Wegner (1992): Farmer's Drums from Bhaktapur and North Indian Art Music, in: Festival traditional music '90. Berlin. Pp. 6-13.
33. ↑ ^{a b c} Kathmandu University Dep. of Music ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
34. ↑ The Kathmandu University Navabaja and Dhimay Ensemble ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
35. ↑ Abhijit Shakya, Asheshwor Man Shrestha, Binay Rajan Shrestha, Prabesh Joshi, Ujwal Nanda Vaidya: A Report on Nyatapola-a marvel of Nepalese Architecture . Institute of Engineering, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Pulchowk Campus. ( online in the Internet Archive , in English, with further literature).
36. ↑ Bhaktapur Tourism Development Committee ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
37. ↑ ^{a b c} A case study on Bhaktapur by Unesco from 2000, p. 21 PDF (English).
38. ↑ Calendar of the current festivals html ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
39. ↑ Stürzbecher (1981), pp. 194-207.
40. ↑ ^{a b c d} Bhaktapur municipality at a glance doc ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
41. ↑ Map of the technical accessibility (English)
42. ↑ Air pollution levels higher in Bhaktapur than in Kathmandu (English)
43. ↑ Pictures of the line from 2007 html (English / Russian)
44. ↑ Bhaktapur Industrial District ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
45. ↑ Website of the Khwopa Engineering College ( memento of the original from March 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
46. ↑ Ishan's website ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
47. ↑ Industries of Bhaktapur Industrial Estate ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
48. ↑ Overview of the Bhaktapur Brick Factory doc ( Memento of the original from July 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
49. ↑ ^{a b c} Künzle / Schreiber (1977), pp. 57-84.
50. ↑ History of Bhaktapur Craft Paper ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
51. ↑ Lama Thanka Painting School (English)
52. ↑ Article with Mayor Prem Suwal in Sunday Dispatch 7.-13. May 2000 ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
53. ↑ All cinemas in the Kathmandu valley ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
54. ↑ ^{a b} Scheibler (1982), p. 52 f.
55. ↑ Stürzbecher (1981), pp. 183-193.
56. ↑ ^{a b} Solid Waste Management in Bhaktapur Municipality PDF  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
57. ↑ List of hospitals and outpatient departments ( memento of the original from March 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
58. ↑ First Newari School in Bhaktapur html ( Memento of the original from May 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
59. ↑ List of schools ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
60. ↑ On the cinematic obituary by Udo Grube PDF  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
61. ↑ Punam. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 . 
62. ↑ Living Goddess in the Internet Movie Database (English) and premiere of the film  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
63. ^ Literature on Bhaktapur in the GBV catalog
64. ↑ Online maps of Bhaktapur (English)
65. ↑ Online maps of Bhaktapur ( memento of the original from September 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Czech) 

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on August 3, 2009 in this version .