Previously known as Calcutta, Kolkata is the second largest city in India. This exciting city offers an incredible experience to all who visit the teeming metropolis. Home to poets, philosophers, Nobel Prize winners, writers, and artists, Kolkata is the undisputed intellectual and cultural capital of India. Visitors can relax at five star Kolkata hotels, enjoy the wonderful Bengali cuisine, and visit the city’s many cultural and historical destinations.
Named after Britian’s King William III, Fort William is one of the more well known sites in Kolkata. The name actually graces two forts. The original Fort William was completed in 1706. built by the British East India Company, the bastions and walls enclosed the Government House. One of the fort’s guard rooms became known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. This fort was attacked by Siraj ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, in 1756 which resulted in the city’s name being changed temporarily to Alinagar.
In 1757 the British regained the city in the Battle of Plassey. In 1758 they began construction on the new Fort William, which would house 10,000 soldiers. Completed in 1781, the structure is an irregular octagon of brick-and-mortar. It encloses five square kilometers and is surrounded by a moat that is fifteen meters wide and nine meters deep and can be flooded when needed. The Fort includes six gates: Plassey, Calcutta, Water Gate, Treasury Gate, Chowringhee, and St Georges. The old fort was repaired and serves as a customs house in the new fort. The fort is still in active use as the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.
The front of Fort William is known as the Maidan and is the largest park in the Kolkata and is also called “the lungs of Kolkata.” It is approximates three kilometers long and one kilometer wide. Visitors are permitted to enter the fort’s museum which features swords, armours, muskets, and other arms. It also features historical photographs of recent wars. Access to the fort’s Arsenal is only granted by special permission.
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Tags: Calcutta, five star hotels, Fort William, Kolkata, Kolkata hotels