Manora Fort

This article is about fort in Thanjvur, India. For the island in Pakistan, see Manora.

Manora Fort
Location	Thanjavur, India
Coordinates	10.268°N 79.304°E / 10.268; 79.304
Architectural style(s)	Dravidian architecture
Type	Cultural
State Party	India
Location in Tamil Nadu, India

Manora, The Ancient Fort of Tamil Nadu, India

The Manora fort is situated 65-km away from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. The fort was built by Maratha ruler Serfoji II in 1814–1815 to commemorate the successful advance of the British over Napoleon Bonaparte. It is an 8-storied, hexagonal tower, which is 23-meters high overlooking the Bay of Bengal. The fort derives its name Manora, from the word "Minaret".

In December 2004, five monuments including the fort were damaged in the Indian Ocean Tsunami. It was planned in 2007 by the State Tourism Department to renovate the structure and improve its infrastructure by building several additional facilities including upgrading the children's park and building a tourist's shed.

Claims

It is claimed by the locals that in those hay days, the 8 storey tower overlooked a part of distant country Sri Lanka across the Bay of Bengal, a claim still unproven. It is said that the Lankan traders used to come to Manora and traded goods with their Indian counterparts. There are also many claims regarding treasure Serfoji might have hidden inside the mazes of the fort. This resulted in the locals to damage the campus in search of the treasures but yielding none. Neglect from maintenance has already cost the heritage building severely that public are allowed to go until the 2nd floor of the 8 storey tower in fear of collapse of the tower. Also, it is claimed that an underground passege from this fort leads to the big temple in Thanjavur, 65 km away.

References

• Manora Tour Guide and Photos