Kandy
| මහනුවර, கண்டி Kandy |
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| Coordinates | 7 ° 18 ′ N , 80 ° 38 ′ E | ||
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| Country | Sri Lanka | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | LK | ||
| Website | kandy.mc.gov.lk (English) | ||
 View from Arthur's Seat over the lake, on the right in the background the ensemble of the Toothed Temple.
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Kandy ( Sinhala මහනුවර Maha Nuvara , pronunciation : [ mahaˈnuʋərə ]; Tamil கண்டி pronunciation : [ ˈkaɳɖi ]) is the capital of the Central Province of Sri Lanka . Kandy is located in the central highlands of the island state and had around 150,000 inhabitants in 2016.
geography
Kandy is located at an altitude of almost 500 m surrounded by hills in the Kandy Valley by the Mahaweli River . With an average of 24 ° C, the climate is significantly cooler than in the lowlands. In addition to the altitude, the artificial lake in the center, which was created by the last Sinhalese king in 1812, contributes to the fresh climate and the relatively good air quality.
To the east is the village of Abasingammedda .
history
Kandy was the capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom , which was able to hold its own against numerous attempts at conquest by the colonial powers until it was conquered by the British in 1815 . In August 1867 the passenger service of today's Sri Lanka Railways from Colombo to Kandy was opened, in September 1867 the freight service.
In the course of its history the city had several names, it was first called Senkadagalapura , later Sri Wardhanapura and is still called by Sinhalese not Kandy , but Maha Nuwara (German "big city"). The English name Kandy is derived from the Sinhalese "Kanda uḍa raṭa", "Kingdom on the mountain", which the Portuguese shortened to Candea and was used for both the state and its capital.
population
The Sinhalese make up the majority of the population. Sri Lankan moors and Tamils are the largest minorities.
| Ethnicity | number | % of the total population |
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| Sinhalese | 77,560 | 70.48 |
| Moors | 15,326 | 13.93 |
| Sri Lankan Tamils | 9,427 | 8.57 |
| India Tamils | 5,245 | 4.77 |
| Others ( Burgher , Malay ) | 2,489 | 2.26 |
| total | 110,049 | 100 |
Source: Population by Ethnicity according to Urban Area (Provisional) ( Memento from March 11, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
Religious meaning
Buddhism
See also: Buddhism in Sri Lanka
In the so-called Temple of the Tooth ( Sri Dalada Maligawa , sinhala dalaˌdaː ˈmaːligaːvə ) an upper left canine tooth of the Buddha is to be kept. This relic was an important source of legitimacy for the Sinhalese royalty and was therefore always kept in the respective royal seat. It makes the city one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhism , which is a major reason for the city's prosperity. During the annual processions ( Esala Perahera , sinhala ˈæsələ ˌperəˈhærə ) in mid-August, pilgrims visit Kandy as the relic is carried through the city on an elephant.
In 1988, the city's temple district was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .
Christianity
Kandy is the seat of the diocese of Kandy .
Attractions
The main attraction of the city is the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa). The Buddhist temple houses a tooth of Buddha from the 4th century and is still used today as a pilgrimage site and monastery. Few people see the tooth relic for themselves. Only a gold-plated reliquary container can be seen.
The lake ( Kandy Lake ) is a further point of attraction. On its bank facing the city center, locals go for a walk in the evenings, especially on Sundays and public holidays, and secure the maintenance of the boat rental company and the numerous balloon, ice cream and souvenir sellers.
On the main street, the Dalada Vidiya , there are some typical buildings from the colonial era; Also worth mentioning are the winding streets between the clock tower and the Tooth Temple, the red and white mosque in the Kotugodelle Vidiya and St. Paul's Church near the temple district.
Since the 1990s there has been a colossal Buddha statue on Bahirawakanda Mountain , which can be seen from many parts of the city. However, there is broad consensus that their artistic value is to be assessed as low.
In the middle of Kandy is the Udawattakele ("Obergartenwald", sinhala uɖəˈvatːəkæˌleː ), a nature reserve around a small mountain. On this is the "Forest Hermitage", a meditation center for advanced monks ( bhikkhus ). The German-born Mahathera Nyanaponika lived there until his death and from here headed the Buddhist Publication Society, which is also based in Kandy .
Outside the city limits, about five kilometers west, is the Botanical Garden of Peradeniya , which annually receives 1.2 million visitors. It was laid out in 1371 and is the largest in the country with an area of 60 hectares. A large number of fruit bats also live here . This park is also home to what is probably the largest banyan tree of the covered area, covering an area of over 2000 m².
Sons and daughters of the place
- Thomas Goodwin (1871-1960), British doctor and officer
- MG Ramachandran (1917–1987), film actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- Christopher Ondaatje (* 1933), writer
- Sarath Amunugama (* 1939), politician
- Muttiah Muralitharan (born 1972), cricketer
Climate table
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Kandy
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Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- The tooth temple site (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ute Strunk: Kandy is the lively center of the central region of Sri Lanka . Allgemeine Zeitung, September 16, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ↑ Website in English. (No longer available online.) National Railway Museum, archived from the original on July 13, 2011 ; accessed on June 14, 2014 . 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.
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Sacred City of Kandy. Retrieved on August 24, 2017 .
Heritage: Holy City of Anuradhapura (1982) | Polonnaruwa Old City (1982) | Old City of Sigiriya (1982) | Holy City of Kandy (1988) | Old town of Galle and its fortifications (1988) | Golden Temple of Dambulla (1991)
Natural heritage: Sinharaja Forest Nature Reserve (1988) | Central Highlands of Sri Lanka (2010)