Polonnaruwa is one of the most visited cultural sites in the northern province of Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa was the 2nd capital of ancient Sri Lanka and home for large number of outstanding cultural and historical attractions. Following is the list of five important places in Polonnaruwa.
Galvihara
Galivihara is a awe-inspiring statuary in medieval period with several Buddha statues in varying sizes, which essentially attributed to the king Parakramabahu the great. According to the stone inscription, the outstanding statuary is dating back to 12th century AD. It had been an image house and a part of the temple complex Uttararama or Northern monastery of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. The Buddha statues show the thorough knowledge of stone masonry of the ancient craftsmen. The statues are carved on to a granite monolith and the biggest Buddha statue is 14 meters in length.
Rankot Vehera
Rankot vehera is the biggest construction in Polonnaruwa and dating back to 12th century AD same times it is the largest completed construction of its kind in the historical city. Earlier the dagoba was known as Ruwanweli dagoba, now it is called Rankot Vehera. Â It can easily be found due to the easy access from the road. Â According to an inscription at the site, Rankot vehera was constructed by King Nissankamalla. A pavilion behind the dagoba had provided the shelter for the King as he was worshiped the relic, which was enshrined within the Stupa.
King Parakramabahu’s Palace
The Parakramabahu Palace is one of the most visited archeological attractions at Polonnaruwa. As the name suggest it was occupied by King Parakramabahu. Today the visitors see only a part of the original construction existed in 12th century AD. According to the archeologists it had been a large spacious building with seven stories. Lower part of the palace was made of bricks and the upper floors were constructed with wood. The palace was severely damaged by South Indian invaders and no attempt was made to recover the original shape of the palace. A model of the original palace can be seeing at the archeological museum of Polonnaruwa.
Quadrangle
Quadrangle is located at the highest spot of Polonnaruwa ruined city. It is comprised of important 6 religious places. Most of the temples that were dedicated to the tooth relic had been constructed at Quadrangle. Thuparama, Vatadage, Nissankalata mandapa, satmahal prasada, tooth relic temple of King Viayabahu, and Hatadage. All 6 constructions are with religious back ground and dating back to several centuries. Vatadage believed to be the oldest construction and constructed in 12th century AD.
Audience hall
The audience hall is situated in front of the King Parakramabahu’s palace. It is built on a raised platform and it is about 2 meters high from the surrounding area. The walls of the raised platform are made huge rectangular shaped rocks. The building was built on the rectangular shaped platform. The building was entirely built with granite. The audience hall of King Parakramabahu was an open hall which had a roof supported by stone pillars. The stone pillars were decorated with intricate floral and animal designs.
