Bailhongal

Kittur started as a fort built by Allappa Gowda Sardesai, the ruler of the Desai dynasty between 1650 and 1681, and reached its zenith during the rule of Mallasaraj Desai. However, the town became famous mainly due to the armed rebellion of Rani Chennamma against the East India Company (EIC) in 1824, during which St John Thackeray, Commissioner of Dharwad, was killed. Another British unit stormed Kittur and captured Chennamma, who was imprisoned in Bailhongal Jail where she died. Her death was followed by subsequent revolts by her general Sangolli Rayanna, who also waged several campaigns against EIC. He was later hanged in 1831. The town is so popular among the Kannadigas that the entire Northwestern Karnataka region is often called "Kittur Karnataka".