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Historical
Background |
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Neoclassical
artifacts discovered in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that
humans have inhabited the Himalayan region since pre-historic
times, however, little is known about the people and lifestyle
of that era. Therefore we can say the history of Kathmandu
Valley began with the beginning of the first century AD.
The Licchivi
Period (third - seventh century AD)
The Licchivi
dynasty, which began in the third century, is considered to be
the first significant dynasty in Kathmandu Valley. These
Licchivi people entered Nepal through North India and were
greatly influenced by Indian art and architecture. They
established Deopatan (the present Pashupatinath temple complex)
as their capital city and erected several temples and villages
around Kathmandu.
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Licchivi
people were very fine craftsmen. They worked primarily on stone
carving and painting, which became very popular during that
time. Some of their fine sculpture can still be found around the
city temples. One of the examples of their greatest sculpture
can be seen at Budhanilkantha Temple at the northern outskirt of
Kathmandu.
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Sculpture of Budhanilkantha |
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We can even find a
number of fine woodcarvings and wood structures dating back to
this period; these demonstrate that the Licchivis had excellent
wood craftsmanship. Kasthamandapa, meaning the wooden house, was
originally built during this period. This structure is considered
as the oldest known wooden building found in Nepal. The name of
the city-Kathmandu-the place where Kasthamandapa still stands was
named after this great structure.
Even though the
Licchivies made a great contribution in the development of
sculpture
and woodcarving, they did not contribute much to the architectural
history of Nepal. After the Licchivi period many other small
kingdoms rose and fell without leaving much historical and
architectural significance to the place until the Mallas invaded
and started ruling from around the end of twelfth century.
Therefore we can say the architectural history of the valley began
only around thirteenth century AD after the Mallas came into power.
The Malla
Period (thirteenth- eighteenth century AD)
The rulers of the Malla period
were Burmo-Mongolian in origin and were very orthodox Hindus. They
proclaimed themselves as Lord "Vishnu" and built several
temples and palaces around the city dedicated to themselves.
Mallas ruled the valley for
about 550 years and this period of Kathmandu Valley is also called
“the golden period” in history because of the extraordinary
building and developing activities that took place in art and
architecture during this time. Almost all of the awesome ancient
pagodas, temples and palaces that we see in the skyline of
Kathmandu today date back to this period. Little consideration was
given to the public housing but many common baths, rest houses
(called sattals) and market areas were built for public purposes.
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Mallas
at first ruled the valley as a single kingdom for a few centuries,
but due to various political reasons it was later divided
into three small kingdoms known as Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
Kings of these kingdoms started building their separate huge
palaces and tall temples to show off their strength. This rivalry
had a very positive impact to the art and architecture of the
place. Considering the small area of the valley, the development
in art and architecture was spectacular. Most of these palaces and
temples still exist and they are UNESCO world heritage sites.
These three ancient cities are the most closely clustered world
heritage sites found anywhere in the world.
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Basantapur Tower at the Palace
of Kathmandu |
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The pagoda - tiered roofing -
was the most dominant architectural feature of this period. It is
believed that pagoda architecture was first practice here long
before Malla period but it was during the Malla period that pagoda
architecture flourished. The proportion of the tiers in the pagoda
roofing, the finest woodcarving work, the height of the plinth and
its effect on the surrounding proved to be the great architectural
concepts and craftsmanship of these people.
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These Burmo-Mongolian people
dominated the Valley until the end of the end of eighteenth
century. They were called the Newars and they were very fine
craftsmen. They were most popular in woodcarving and metallurgical
work. To this day, the most admired art and architecture in Nepal
is built by the Newars. Newars have also developed unique
residential housing called ‘Newar Houses.’ They located a
number of houses around a big courtyard called a ‘chowk’,
which was used as the common space to all these houses around it.
Elaborately carved windows and doors and very low ceiling
heights-proportionate exactly to human scale-are the unique
characteristics of Newar houses.
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A typical Newar House in worn Condition
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