Solapur Bhuikot Fort

The Bhuikot Fort stands on the banks of Siddheshwar lake in Solapur and is one of the city's main tourist sights. Its origins go back to Hindu rulers, and some say Mahmud Gawan, chief minister of the Bahmani Sultan Mahmud Shah, built a second fort around the first and made it impregnable. Over the centuries it sheltered many dynasties. Twice it was promised as a dowry: in 1523 Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur married his daughter to Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar here and offered the fort, then withheld it, leading to war, and later it changed hands again through a marriage alliance. After the Bahmanis, Adil Shahis and Nizam Shahis it passed to the Mughals, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas.

The fort has double walls in typical Bahmani style and two gates, the North gate and the Mahakali gate. Inside are a Shani temple and a ruined Shiva temple with an underground linga.