Jaisalmer
| Jaisalmer जैसलमेर |
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 India
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| State : | Rajasthan | ||
| District : | Jaisalmer | ||
| Sub-district : | Jaisalmer | ||
| Location : | 26 ° 55 ' N , 70 ° 55' E | ||
| Height : | 244 m | ||
| Residents : | 65,471 (2011) | ||
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Jaisalmer ( Hindi : जैसलमेर , Jaisalmer ), founded in 1156, is a desert city with about 70,000 inhabitants in the Indian state of Rajasthan . Jaisalmer was the capital of the princely state of Jaisalmer , founded in 1156 , which came under British rule in 1818 and was dissolved after the establishment of the Indian Union .
location
The city of Jaisalmer, which consists of a walled fort area and a lower town, is located in the west of the Thar desert near the border with Pakistan at an altitude of approx. 220 to 275 m above sea level. d M. The Indian capital Delhi is approx. 800 km to the northeast; Jaipur , the capital of Rajasthan, is about 570 km to the east. The (semi) desert-like climate of Jaisalmer is hot and dry; Rain falls almost exclusively in the monsoon months of July and August.
population
Official population statistics have been kept and published since 1991.
| year | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
| Residents | 38,735 | 57,537 | 65,471 |
The Rajasthani and Hindi speaking population consists of about 90% Hindus and 8% Muslims ; Jains , Christians , Sikhs , Parsees and others are numerically small minorities . As is common in India's censuses, the male population is around 12% higher than the female population.
economy
Jaisalmer is an old caravan town that flourished for a long time due to long-distance trade between India and Arabia and Europe in the Middle Ages and early modern times. With the growing importance of ports such as Khambat , Surat or Bombay under the British and especially after the partition of India (1947), the city was sidelined. Today, the military and tourism stationed in the vicinity of the city play crucial roles in the city's economic life. The new Rajasthan Canal enabled agriculture to flourish in the surrounding area. Roads and a railway line connect Jaisalmer to the rest of Rajasthan.
history
Lodurva , the old capital of the Bhatti Rajputs about 10 km to the northwest , was handed over to the younger half-brother of Rawal Jaisal in the 12th century ; he then founded a new city fortress made of clay mixed with stones on the approx. 75 m high, 120 m long and 500 m wide Trikuta rock. He and his successors succeeded in repelling the attacks of the Muslim armies for a while, but in 1294 the troops of Ala ud-Din Khaljis conquered the city, whereupon a large number of the women committed suicide ( jauhar ) and took their children with them to their death . At the end of the 14th century, the soldiers of Firuz Shah Tughluq besieged the city, whereupon another jauhar took place. In the 16th century, the Rajas of Jaisalmer briefly came into conflict with the Mughal empire , but Raja Sabal Singh (r. 1651–1661) finally recognized the suzerainty of the Mughals, had the fortress city rebuilt from sandstone and tried to extend their claim to power to Bikaner but this was unsuccessful. In the period of the fall of the Mughal Empire, the city - like the rest of Rajasthan - came under the control of the Marathas and later the British.
Attractions
Jaisalmer is a popular tourist destination with its medieval fortress and the equally old historic town center located within the fortress . The main attractions are the havelis , former residential and commercial buildings of the wealthy merchants, and various Jain temples . While the number of visitors initially led to a renewed flourishing of the city, tourism is also increasingly presenting the city with problems. Due to the medieval sewage system, 3 of the 99 historical structures in the fortress are already threatened with collapse because water penetrates their foundations.
In the lower town, which is mostly used for residential, commercial and work purposes, there are a few havelis from the 19th century; The Gadi Sagar Lake is also interesting. A few kilometers outside of Jaisalmer are the old capital Lodurva with its Jain temples, the Amar Sagar lake and the cenotaphs of the Maharajas of Jaisalmer above the often green valley of Bada Bagh.
photos
Jain temple in the fort
dto. (inside)
dto.
Havelis in the fort
Haveli (detail)
Chhatri in Amar Sagar Lake
literature
- Sukhvirsingh Gahlot: Rajasthan: Historical & Cultural . JS Gahlot Research Institute, Jodhpur, 1992.
- Ram Vallabh Somani: History of Rajasthan . Jain Pustak Mandir, Jaipur, 1993
- James Tod, William Crooke: Annals & Antiquities of Rajasthan or the Central and Western Rajput States of India , 3 books. 1829. Reprint: Low Price Publications, Delhi, 1990, ISBN 81-85395-68-3 .
Web links
- Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in India - travel info blog
- Jaisalmer on India-Rundreise.info
- Jaisalmer at Lonely Planet (English)
- Jaisalmer. Official Tourism Website, Rajasthan (English)