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| Palace inside Mandikeri fort. Holiday Plans |
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| Madikeri fort entrance. crazysu - WordPress.com |
There is also an old golf course called Madikeri Downs Golf club, founded by the British during the early colonial days.
Madikeri Fort, built in 17th century by Muddu Raja using mud is a popular tourist destination in Coorg. He also built his palace inside the fort and it had been the residence of erstwhile rulers. During the reign of Tipu Sultan this fort was renamed as Jaffarabad and to make it much stronger, Tipu rebuilt it with granite stones. In 1790, Dodda Vira Rajendra took control of the fort and made some modification and then Linga Rajendra Wodeyar II again reconstructed the fort in mortar and brick between 1812 and 1814. later for a brief spell it was under the British.
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| Church inside Mandikeri fort, Kodagu. www.panoramio.com/ |
Madikeri Deputy Commissioner's Office is located inside the Madikeri Fort premises. The two-storied lofty and spacious structure is 110 feet long. The British renovated the structure twice and in 1933, a clock tower and a portico to park the commissioner's car were added. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha known as "Kote ganapathi" just at the main entrance of the fort. It is one of the major temples where Madikeri dasara festival is celebrated on a grand scale. In the north-east corner at the entrance to the fort are built two life size masonry elephants that were killed by Maharajah Veera Raja and also an Anglican church in the south-east corner that was built in Gothic style by the British in 1859. Popularly known as St. Mark's Church, and it is now converted into a museum which is a repository of many antiques of Coorg and artifacts of the British era. It was built at the initiative of the officers and men of the East India Company. and the funds were provided by the Madras Presidency government. It was under the Church of England in India, Diocese of Madras. The Church, unfortunately faced closure after India's independence and the administration was taken over by the Karnataka State government in 1971.The museum, managed by the state government and ASI, includes a section dedicated to Field Marshal Cariappa, a famous high-ranking military officer from this area, prison and Mahatma Gandhi Public library and some antiques, belonging to colonial era.
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