Description : Belur, is a Town Municipal Council and taluka in Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. The town is renowned for its Chennakeshava Temple, one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. Belur was the early capital of the Hoysala Empire. Belur along with Halebidu about 16 km away is one of the major tourist destinations in Karnataka. According to inscriptions discovered here, it was also referred to as Velur or Velapuri. It was the early capital of the Hoysala kings in 11th-century and remained a second capital through the 14th-century. The city was so esteemed by the Hoysalas that it is referred to as "earthly Vaikuntha" (Vishnu's abode) and "Dakshina Varanasi" (southern holy city of Hindus) in later inscriptions. The mineral beryl and the element beryllium might have gotten their names from this city.
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