Delhi, India

Delhi [ de ː li], the city in northern India, the south, since 1912 erbauter district New Delhi (New Delhi) , the capital of India ‘s; (2011) 11.0 million residents. The 1,483 km 2 capital territory of Delhi has a total of 16.3 million residents (2011).

According to zipcodesexplorer, Delhi is 215 m above sea level on the Yamuna, on the western edge of the Doab, a flat intermediate river country between the Ganges and Yamuna. As the course of the river changed, Delhi shifted further and further to the northeast over the course of time. The rapid population increase since 1947 (1941: 917 400 residents) increased the population pressure in the old town (Old Delhi);Spacious suburbs with apartment buildings and industrial plants emerged (suggested by the Delhi Development Authority). Delhi has four universities, a medical and an agricultural college, research institutes, libraries, museums (including Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, National Gallery of Modern Art, National Museum of India, National Museum of Natural History, National Science Center, Crafts Museum, National Gandhi Museum and Library, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library); catholic archbishop’s seat. After Mumbai and Kolkata, Delhi is the third most important industrial location in India with textile, chemical, electronic and electrical industries, vehicle construction and others. as well as the most important traffic junction in northern India with the international airport “Indira Gandhi” and the domestic airport in Palam,

Cityscape

The old city of Delhi is formed by the “seventh” city, Shahjahanabad, built 1638–58; the “Red Fort” (Lalkila), completed in 1648, contains luxurious palaces, audience halls and magnificent gates as well as the pearl mosque (Moti Masjid, 1662) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Between the castle and town, the Friday Mosque (Jama Masjid) was built on a large terrace in 1644–58. The modern capital and business city of New Delhi, which is generously designed as a garden city with facilities and parks, is connected to the old town. It grows more and more into the various ruins to the south. The pulsating center is Connaught Place; The Birla family of industrialists is in the immediate vicinityDonated Hindu Lakshmi Naryan Temple (1933–39), the India Gate (1931), memorial for the victims of the First World War, and the historical observatory »Jantar Mantar« (1724). In the mighty Lalkot fortress are among others. the Qutb or Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (1193 ff.), which contains the rustproof iron column (5th century), the over 70 m high Qutb-ud-din-Minar (1193–1230), the gateway Alai Darwaza (around 1305) and the tomb of Iltutmisch (1235); all of them a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mighty fortress walls have also been preserved from the “third” old city, Tughluqabad; the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq(around 1325) is a typical example of this period. From Firosabad there are castle and palace ruins as well as the strong Kalan Masjid (1386). The most important buildings from the Sayyid and Lodi period (1414–1526) are some mosques and tombs. The “Old Fort” (Purana Kila) belongs to the Mughal era and was built from 1530 onwards. The Kila-i-Kuhna Mosque was built around 1541, the tomb of Isa Khan in 1547, the tomb of Humayun in 1556-65 (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The Red Fort was also built in the Mughal period and was built between 1639 and 1648 for the Emperor Shah Jahan (UNESCO World Heritage Site).

The relocation of the seat of government to Delhi (1911) brought a lot of construction activity. Most of the administrative buildings were completed in 1931, and since 1947 they have often been supplemented by buildings in a style influenced by Europe. For the densely populated city, among other things. the multi-storey residential buildings (1977–79) by the Indian architect Charles M. Correa (* 1930, † 2015) are of great importance.

History

The extremely favorable location at the narrowest point between the great Indian desert (in the southwest) and the Himalayas, at the same time on the connecting line between the fertile and populous plains on the Indus (west) and Ganges (east), have in the Delhi area in the course of For more than three millennia the capitals of the most important Indian empires (including the Sultanate of Delhi) let arise. The remains of seven old city complexes (of around 15 known) testify to this: Lalkot or Qila Raj Pithura (Rajput foundation of the 11th century, conquered by Muslim armies in 1193), Siri (founded in 1303 by Ala-ud-din Khilji , 1296-1316), Tughluqabad (founded in 1321 by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, † 1321) , Jahanpanah (created by walling Lalkot and Siri under Mohammed bin Tughluq , 1321–51), Firosabad (with the fortress Kotla Firos Shah, built by Firos Shah , 1351–88), Purana Qila (founded by the Afghan Sher Shah , who subjugated northern India in 1542–45), Shahjahanabad (built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan , 1627-58). 1803–1947 under British rule, in 1911 Delhi became the seat of the government of British India instead of Calcutta (now Kolkata); New Delhi (formally inaugurated in 1931) has been the capital of independent India since 1947. 1956-91 Delhi was a union territory; the National Capital Territory Act (1991) gave it the status of a state with its own government.

Delhi, India