The Word Solapur is believed to be derived from "SOLA" meaning sixteen in local language ( Marathi ) & "PUR" meaning village. Those sixteen villages were Aadilpur, Ahmedpur, Chapaldev, Fatehpur, Jamdarwadi, Kalajapur, Khadarpur, Khandervkiwadi, Muhammadpur, Ranapur, Sandalpur, Shaikpur, Solapur, Sonalagi, Sonapur and Vaidakwadi which are now united in Municipal Corporation of Solapur.
Solapur is famous for its Chadder, Handloom, Powerloom and Beedi Industries, covering an area of 14844.6 sq.kms., is one of the important districts in Maharashtra State of India.
It is influenced by its geography and the area is largely consists of plains. The river Bhima flows from northwest to the southeast and Sina River also flows from it. The southwest and northeast parts of the district are arid areas. Solapur is meeting ground for Maharashtra and Karnataka and from very old times the trade routes passed across Solapur district.
There are 8 famous Digamabar Jain temples at Solapur two are at Shukravar Peth, one in Kasagi, one at Shravikashram, one at Bhusari and Seth Sakharamji temple. The chief deity (Gramdevata)of the city are Shri Siddeshwar & Shri Rupabhavani
Solapur developed as a commercial center for cotton and other agricultural produce. Solapur bed-sheets have earned fame and reputation for their novel designs and durability.
History As per the mythological literary sources the region south of Godavari was covered with thick forest and was inhabited by the aboriginal. Agastya was the first Aryan who crossed the Vindhya Mountains and settled on the banks of Godavari followed by other sages who established their hermitages in the different regions of the south. In early centuries the city belonged to the Hindu Chalukyas and Devagiri Yadavas, but later became a part of the Bahamani and Bijapur kingdoms. Vairag village in Barshi tehsil situated at a distance of 14 miles to the south east of Barshi and 30 miles to the North of Solapur is a meeting place of saints of Nath Sect who have enunciated worldly life for meditation. Because of this particular aspect the village seems to have been named as 'Vairag'.
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Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Solapur - updated Apr 2024
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Solapur Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
