Location : Northern Karnataka                     Area in Sq.Kms : 17,069
Percent of State's Area : 8.90                       Population in 1991 : 2,927,990
Rank : 5                                                       Numder of Taluks : 11
Number of Grama Panchayats : 365             Number of Taluk and Urban
Distance From Bangalore : 579 Kms            Agglomerations : 18

Important jatra :

Place	Month	Deity/Saint	No of days	Approximate attendence
Bijapur	January-Feberaury	Siddheshwara	8	30,000
Sivayagamandir	January-Feberaury	Hanagal Kumara Swamy	4	50,000

 
Bijapur, the district headquarters, one of the most important centres of Indo-Saracenic art, being the capital of the Adilshahis of Bijapur (1489-1686j. The Gol Gumbaz here has the biggest dome in India, 126 feet in diametre at its hase and is the Mausoleum of Mohammed Adilshah (1626-56). It has an astonishing whispering gallery and it covers an area of 15,000 square feet. Ibrahim Rauza is marvellous mausoleum of Ihrahim II (1580-1626) which stands on a platform supported by rows of arches, and at one end is the mosque and the other the tomh. Cousens called this as "the Tajmahal of the South". Anand Mahal, Gagan Mahal, Asar Mahal etc are palaces at Bijapur. There are fine tanks like Tajbavadi and Chandbavadi. Asar Mahal has paintings. The fort round the town has 96 bastions and six imposing doorways. Mulk-Maidan is a huge gun here weighing 55 tons. Near Gol Gumbaz is a museum. The place has a Municipal Corporation. It has many grand artistic mosques like Kali Masjid, Mecca Masjid, Malika Jahan's mosque and the Jami Masjid, the biggest one with a proportionate large dome. The Mahtar Mahal, the entrance of mosque has delicate stone hrackets of' intricate workmanship. To the west of the citadel is a Dattatreya temple, where a pair of sandals of Narashiinha Saraswati are worshipped and' the shrine was raised by Ibrahim II. There i; a Parshwanatha basadi (1927) in the city and many modern temples of which Eppattu Shivalinga temple (1954) is notahJe. Bijapur had a population of over one million in its hayday and was a great commercial centre, called as "the Queen of Deccan". After its take over by Aurangzeb, the city lost its impnrtance. It regained its importance after the British made it their district headquarters during 1870s.