# Polonnaruwa

> town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

**Wikidata**: [Q394443](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q394443)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonnaruwa)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/polonnaruwa

## Summary
Polonnaruwa is a town and human settlement in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, located in Polonnaruwa District. It sits at coordinates latitude 7.9333333333333, longitude 81 and is associated with the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and nearby monuments such as the Gal Vihara rock temple.

## Key Facts
- Polonnaruwa is classified as a town and as a human settlement.
- Polonnaruwa is located in Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia.
- Polonnaruwa lies within North Central Province, Sri Lanka.
- Polonnaruwa is administratively part of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province.
- Coordinates: latitude 7.9333333333333, longitude 81.
- Wikidata description: "town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka".
- Wikipedia page title: "Polonnaruwa".
- Wikidata sitelink_count for Polonnaruwa: 55.
- The ancient city of Polonnaruwa (associated with the town) is listed among Sri Lanka's eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites (listed in the provided material as the "ancient city of Polonnaruwa").
- Related notable monument: Gal Vihara — described in the source as a rock temple of the Buddha in Sri Lanka (Gal Vihara sitelink_count: 14).
- Related historical polity: Kingdom of Polonnaruwa — a Sinhalese kingdom in present-day Sri Lanka (dated in the source to 1055–1232; Kingdom inception recorded as +1017-01-01T00:00:00Z in the provided structured data; sitelink_count: 14).
- North Central Province (the province containing Polonnaruwa) inception recorded as +1873-00-00T00:00:00Z in the provided structured data (sitelink_count: 41).
- Polonnaruwa District (the administrative district containing the town) is identified in the source as an administrative district in North Central Province (sitelink_count: 23).
- Country-level context provided for Sri Lanka in the source: official name Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; independence/republic date listed as 1972-05-22 (inception value from provided data).

## FAQs
Q: What is Polonnaruwa?
A: Polonnaruwa is a town in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka and an administrative settlement within Polonnaruwa District.

Q: Where is Polonnaruwa located geographically?
A: Polonnaruwa is located at latitude 7.9333333333333 and longitude 81 in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka.

Q: Is Polonnaruwa historically important?
A: Yes. The town is associated with the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, which is one of the sites listed among Sri Lanka’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and with the medieval Kingdom of Polonnaruwa (a Sinhalese kingdom dated in the source to 1055–1232).

Q: What notable monuments or sites are connected with Polonnaruwa?
A: The Gal Vihara rock temple is connected in the provided material; the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and its monuments are also highlighted as significant heritage in the source.

Q: What administrative units govern Polonnaruwa?
A: Polonnaruwa is in Polonnaruwa District, which is part of North Central Province; the province is one of Sri Lanka’s nine provinces.

Q: Where can I find more authoritative entries on Polonnaruwa?
A: The entity has a Wikipedia page titled "Polonnaruwa" and a Wikidata entry whose sitelink_count is given as 55 in the provided data.

## Why It Matters
Polonnaruwa matters because it sits at the heart of a historically and archaeologically significant zone of Sri Lanka. The town is connected to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, which represents a major phase of Sri Lankan history and administration — the medieval Kingdom of Polonnaruwa — and contains monumental Buddhist rock-carved works such as Gal Vihara. Those heritage assets make the area important for studies of Sinhalese kingdoms, Buddhist art and architecture, and for Sri Lanka's national cultural identity. The combination of present-day administrative function (as a town in Polonnaruwa District, North Central Province) with proximity to UNESCO-recognized ancient monuments means Polonnaruwa plays an ongoing role in heritage management, tourism, and local governance in the region.

## Notable For
- Association with the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, one of the eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites listed for Sri Lanka in the provided material.
- Proximity to and association with Gal Vihara, the rock temple of the Buddha referenced in the source.
- Historical link to the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, a Sinhalese kingdom dated in the source to 1055–1232 and with inception metadata recorded as +1017-01-01T00:00:00Z.
- Serving as a present-day town within Polonnaruwa District and the North Central Province administrative structure.
- Definitive geocoordinates: lat 7.9333333333333, lon 81, enabling precise mapping and geospatial referencing.

## Body

### Overview
Polonnaruwa is a town-level human settlement in Sri Lanka. The provided structured data identifies it with a Wikidata description "town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka" and a Wikipedia title "Polonnaruwa." The town’s geospatial coordinates are latitude 7.9333333333333 and longitude 81. In Wikidata-derived metadata the entity has a sitelink_count of 55.

### Location and Administrative Context
- Country: Polonnaruwa is located in Sri Lanka, the island country in South Asia referenced throughout the provided material.
- Province: The town lies within North Central Province. The North Central Province entry in the source has inception metadata listed as +1873-00-00T00:00:00Z and a sitelink_count of 41.
- District: Polonnaruwa is administratively part of Polonnaruwa District, which is described in the source as an administrative district in North Central Province (sitelink_count: 23).
- Administrative role: The source identifies Polonnaruwa as a town within these nested administrative units; no additional municipal founding date or population figures for the town are provided in the source.

### Coordinates and Identifiers
- Exact coordinates supplied: latitude 7.9333333333333, longitude 81.
- Wikidata/Wikipedia identifiers: Wikipedia page title "Polonnaruwa"; Wikidata description "town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka"; sitelink_count: 55 (for Polonnaruwa).
- Classification: The entity is classified as a human settlement in the provided related-items list.

### Historical Connections
- Kingdom of Polonnaruwa: The town is historically associated with the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. The source describes the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa as a Sinhalese kingdom in present-day Sri Lanka dated 1055–1232, with structured inception metadata +1017-01-01T00:00:00Z and a sitelink_count of 14. That medieval polity represents the historical phase when Polonnaruwa served as a political and cultural centre.
- Ancient city: The "ancient city of Polonnaruwa" appears in the source among Sri Lanka’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The provided material repeatedly emphasizes the ancient city as a cultural-heritage asset connected to the modern town.

### Cultural and Archaeological Sites
- Gal Vihara: The Gal Vihara is referenced in the source as a rock temple of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. The provided structured material connects Gal Vihara to the broader Polonnaruwa context and lists its sitelink_count as 14.
- UNESCO listing: The source states Sri Lanka is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites and explicitly names the ancient city of Polonnaruwa among them. The provided material ties the ancient city to the country-level cultural heritage inventory.

### Related Entities and Relationships
- Sri Lanka: Polonnaruwa is located in Sri Lanka. The provided material includes comprehensive country-level data for Sri Lanka: official name (Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka), national facts, and an inception date for the republic recorded as 1972-05-22 in the structured data. These country-level facts serve as context for Polonnaruwa’s national setting.
- North Central Province: The province containing Polonnaruwa is identified with inception metadata and provincial sitelink_count in the source. North Central Province is one of Sri Lanka’s nine provinces listed in the provided material.
- Polonnaruwa District: Identified as the administrative district that contains the town. The district’s role is noted in the source as part of the provincial administrative structure.
- Human settlement: In the related-items list the generic class "human settlement" is included; Polonnaruwa is explicitly categorized under that umbrella in the source.

### Heritage, Tourism, and Scholarship (as presented)
- Heritage significance: The provided material repeatedly highlights the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and nearby sites such as Gal Vihara as part of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage roster. The town’s proximity to those remains ties it to national and international scholarship on medieval Sri Lankan polity, Buddhist art, and archaeology.
- Reference counts: The provided sitelink_counts (Polonnaruwa 55; Gal Vihara 14; Kingdom of Polonnaruwa 14; North Central Province 41; Polonnaruwa District 23) indicate the entities’ cross-reference presence in linked data resources as given in the source.

### Data and Source Metadata
- Polonnaruwa (entity): Wikipedia title "Polonnaruwa"; Wikidata description "town in North Central Province, Sri Lanka"; sitelink_count: 55.
- Coordinates: lat 7.9333333333333, lon 81 (structured property provided in the source).
- Related structured properties included in the source: North Central Province inception +1873-00-00T00:00:00Z; Kingdom of Polonnaruwa inception +1017-01-01T00:00:00Z; Sri Lanka (country) inception value recorded as 1972-05-22 in the provided data excerpt.

### Limitations of the Provided Material
- The source material supplied no population, municipal founding date for the modern town, local governance details specific to the town, or separate archaeological site coordinates beyond the town-level coordinates and the mention of Gal Vihara. No economic or demographic statistics specific to Polonnaruwa itself were provided in the source.

### Where to Look Next (based on provided identifiers)
- The Wikipedia page titled "Polonnaruwa" and the corresponding Wikidata item (sitelink_count 55) are the primary linked-data starting points indicated in the source for deeper, externally maintained documentation and references. Gal Vihara and Kingdom of Polonnaruwa entries (each with sitelink_count 14 in the provided data) are the immediate related cultural-historical items to consult for archaeological and historical detail.

## References

1. [Source](https://wb.km.gov.cn/c/2008-02-21/3839238.shtml)
2. [Source](https://wb.km.gov.cn/upload/resources/file/2022/05/11/3666839.pdf)
3. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
4. Flickr Shapefiles Public Dataset 2.0
5. GeoNames
6. BBC Things
7. [Source](http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/201)
8. Quora
9. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File