Suvarnadurg
| Suvarnadurg Fort | |
|---|---|
| Part of Harnai port of Ratnagiri District | |
| Harnai, India | |
Entrance to Suvarnadurg fort
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 Suvarnadurg Fort
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| Coordinates | 17°49′01″N 73°05′06″E / 17.817°N 73.085°E |
| Type | Fort |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Government of Maharashtra |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | Seventeenth century |
| Built by | Sultan Adilshah and later by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaaj |
| Battles/wars | Marathas, Angrias and British |
| Events | Battles for the fort in 1755 and 1818 |
Suvarnadurg (translation: Golden Fort, also spelt Severndroog in English, a spelling sometimes also used for Savandurga) is a fort that is located between Mumbai and Goa on a small island in the Arabian Sea, near Harnai in Konkan, along the West Coast of India, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The fort also includes another small land fort called the Kanakadurga at the base of headland of Harnai port on the coast. Building of the fort is credited to Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire, in 1660. Subsequently, Shivaji, other Peshwas and the Angres further fortified the forts for defence purposes.
The literal meaning of Suvanadurga is "Golden Fort" as it was considered as the pride or the "feather in the golden cap of Marathas". Built for the Maratha Navy for defence purposes, the fort also had a ship-building facility. The basic objective of establishing the fort was to counter enemy attacks, mainly by the colonialists of Europe and also by the local chieftains.
In the past, the land fort and the sea fort were connected by a tunnel, but this is now defunct. The present approach to the sea fort is only by boats from the Harnai port on the headland. It is a protected monument.
The fort is on an island in the Arabian sea on the west coast within the jurisdiction of Ratnagiri district, off the Kanakadurga fort and below the headland Harnai port. The nearest town is Dapoli, a hill station (near Chiplun), 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Harnai. Kanakadurga, the harbour fort, built originally as a strategic link to the sea fort has a lighthouse. Harnai, near the dilapidated Kanakadurg fort, is an important harbour, which is right on the edge of the land that protrudes into the Arabian Sea. This is a natural harbour known for large fishing and marketing. It is conjectured that the Kanakadurga fort and other land side forts such as Bankot fort, Fategad fort and Gova fort were built primarily as look out forts for the security of the Suvarnadurg fort. There is no landing jetty at the Suvarnadurga fort. However, the landing is on the shores of the sandy beach of the rocky island. Another feature of the area is that a narrow channel separates the Gova, Kanakadurg and Fattehgarh forts on the mainland.
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Wikipedia