Are you looking to explore the history of Thanjavur through the ages? There are a number of historical destinations in Thanjavur including the time-honored buildings, monuments, palaces, and parks where you can learn about the glorious past of Thanjavur. The presence of these historical sites and museums will take you on a walk through Thanjavur ‘s rich history.
If you are willing to have an in-depth historical information about Thanjavur, we recommend that you take a wonderful guided tour to cover the major historical attractions. Also, check the opening and closing time for each so that you can organize your time. Make sure that you go through the complete list of historical places in Thanjavur for a great trip!
Top Historical Places in Thanjavur
Let's witness the history of Thanjavur with these top historical places - monuments and landmarks:
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Thanjavur Palace
(462 Votes)
Built in the heart of the capital of the Cholas, is the beautiful Thanjavur Palace. Although most of the beauty is now turned into ruins due to the natural pressures of thunder, strong winds etc, it still seems to behold the glory of the Chola and the Maratha rulers. This palace is said to be the official resident of the Bhonsle family who were the last rulers of Thanjavur. This place is also k...Read more -
Gangaikonda Cholapuram, which means “the town of the Chola who took the Ganges”, is just at the centre of the city of Tamil Nadu. The tiny village of Gangaikonda Cholapuram was built by Emperor Rajendra Chola, who was the Son of RajarajaChola. He was most successful Chola ruler and this village was the capital of the kingdom. At the time of Rajendra Chola, there was wealth overflowi...Read more -
Uppiliappam Temple
(79 Votes)
This temple is said to be a 1000 years old or even more than that. There is no proper evidence of when it was formed but there are many proofs of the Chola kings worshipping in this temple. Legendary story behind this temple is that Bhoomadevi approached Perumal and said that she also deserved a place in his heart as she was nothing less than Mahalakshmi. Perumal in turn told her that she would...Read more -
Airavateswara Temple
(195 Votes)
The Airavateswara temple is located in a small place called Darasuram near the town of Kumbakonam. It is known that the original name of the place was Rajarajapuram and later converted into Darasuram. This temple is the main attraction of this place. According to the legends, Airavata, the white elephant of Lord Indra worshipped Lord Shiva here to get freed from the curse of sage Durvasa. The s...Read more -
It is said that when the world was moving rapidly towards destruction, Lord Brahma approached Lord Shiva for a remedy. The lord told him to build a pot filled with nectar of life and float it in water. He is said to have taught Lord Brahma the way how to leave it on water. Legends say that the pot stopped at a place and Lord Shiva shot an arrow to break the pot. The pot broke and the nectar of ...Read more -
The Great Living Chola temple is referred to the collection of three famous granite temples all dedicated to Lord Shiva. These are the Brihadeeshwara temple in Thanjavur, The Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple and the Airavateshvara temple at Darasuram. The latter two were recently added to the world heritage extensions. These temples built during the reign of the Chola kings are spread over t...Read more -
Sangeetha Mahal
(102 Votes)
It was originally known as ‘Navaratnamana maina Nataka Sala’. This tongue twisting name means ‘the thatre adorned with gems’. It was so called as the interiors of this hall were all decorated with precious gemstones. It was built many many years ago by the Nayak king, Sevappa Nayak during the 1600s. Later, when the Marathas started ruling this place, it came to be known ...Read more -
Thanjavur was originally the kingdom of the Chola kings and the nayaks. Later after the fall of this kingdom the Marathas took over and ruled this place for more than 180 years. Within this time there was the entry of the British eho started rising in power but were then defeated by the French colonials in the 18th century. The wealth was overflowing the kingdom due to these foreign invasions. ...Read more -
This temple was built under the instructions of King Raghunata nayaka, who was a great devotee of Lord Rama. The work was supervised by his minister Govinda Dikshitar. This temple is linked by a pathway with the Chakrapani temple which was also built by Dikshitar. According to the pages of History, King Dasaratha was very disappointed as he had no children to take forward his legacy so he condu...Read more