Vijayawada: Representatives of the Amaravati Partnership Office, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore, visited the heritage structures of the medieval fort at Kondapalli on Wednesday, as part of their study of the development taking place in the new capital region of Andhra Pradesh.
Well-known historian and Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA), CEO, Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy accompanied the visitors and briefed them on the historical and heritage significance of the Kondapalli Fort.
He revealed that the history of Kondapalli traces back to the 9th century AD and the fortification on the hill top was initiated by Anavema Reddy of the Kondaveedu Dynasty in 1364 AD and strengthened during the rule of the Gajapatis of Odisha. Dr Reddy briefed the team on the siege of the fort by Sri Krishnadevaraya, the mighty Vijayanagara Emperor after a great fight of three months from January to April in 1516 AD and then how the fort passed into the hands of the Bahmanis, Qutub Shahis, Asaf Jahis, East India Company, French and the British.
The team led by Amaravati Partnership Office director Eric Tan, teachers of the Millennia Institute, David D ‘Souza, John Goh, Terrene, Tamilselvi Siva and Xin Sin comprised 22 students of history and visited various heritage structures including the Court Hall, Diwan-I-Am, Diwan-i-Khas, Queen’s Palace, Royal Harem, market place, prison, barracks, elephant and horse stables, mother-in-law and daughter-in–law water tanks, 18 bastions and the entrances to the three-level stone fortification walls and the mud fort at the foot of the Kondapalli hill guided by Dr Reddy.
The team enjoyed the beauty of the environs and lauded the aesthetics of the Kondapalli Fort and took aerial view photographs of the fort and the surrounding villages.
