Echo engineering at Gol Gumbaz -Vijayapura-Bijapur - Karnataka -India- Vishwanath Pai

Gol Gumbaz-Marvelous echo engineering

The foundation of the historic city VIJAYAPURA was laid during the reign of the Chalukyan dynasty of Kalyani between the 10th and 11th centuries. The dynasty called it so as it mean the City of Victory. Gol Gumbaz is located at Vijayapura, formerly known as Bijapur. It was constructed in the 17th century by the seventh ruler of Adilshahi dynasty and is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah. Vijayapura is 540 kilometres away from Bangalore, the capital city of Indian state Karnataka. Gol Gumbaz with a height of 51 meter and diameter of 37 meters with 3 meter thick walls is spread over approximately 1700 square meter. It is in Islamic architectural style. About 20 years were spent for the complete construction of this large tomb. One of the significant feature of the Gol Gumbaz is its central dome which stands without the support of pillars and it is the second largest dome in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The amazing echo system witness the marvellous combination of sound and civil engineering. Any sound at this place echoes for over eleven times. The system is best designed such that you can even hear the tick of a watch across a distance of about 37 meter in the vast dome. Even after so many hundred years the echo system is intact. The steps you need to climb up and down are narrow and you should be bit careful.