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Sacred City of Anuradhapura
| Site number: | 200 |
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| Type of site: | Cultural | |
| Date: | 3rd century BC | |
| Date of Inscription: | 1982 | |
| Location: | Asia, Sri Lanka, North Central Province, Anuradhapura District | |
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| Description: | Sanghamitta, the founder of a Buddhist nun order, brought a cutting from the 'tree of enlightenment', the Buddha's fig tree, to this site in the 3rd century B.C.; the site’s sacred city was founded around this cutting. The Ceylonese political and religious capital of Anuradhapura prospered for 1,300 years, but was deserted after an assault in 993. For countless years having been hidden away within a dense jungle, the impressive site, with its palaces, monasteries and monuments, is accessible once more. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here. | |
| Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization. The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in the of Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu Oya. Founded in the 4th century BC, it was the capital of the Anuradhapura Kingdom until the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia. The ancient city, considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles (40 km²). Anuradhapura is also significant in Hindu legend as the fabled capital of the Asura King Ravana in the Ramayana. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here. | ||
| Rights of Image: | www.World-Heritage-Tour.org | |
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/200 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |