Bheemunipatnam

Bheemunipatnam (also known as Bheemili), is a suburb of Visakhapatnam, India. The town was named after Bhima, a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It formerly administered under the Bheemunipatnam municipality, but merged into GVMC in 2017. It is currently under the administration of Bheemunipatnam revenue division and the headquarters is located at Bheemunipatnam. Bheemunipatnam is located about 40 km from Visakhapatnam Airport, about 31 km from Visakhapatnam railway station and 29 km from Visakhapatnam city central bus station. It lies to the north of Visakhapatnam City and is loosely bordered by Rushikonda to the south and Bay of Bengal to the east, Madhurawada to the west, Bhogapuram to the north. Historical evidences of Buddhist Culture have been noticed at Bheemunipatnam dating back to 3rd century BCE on the hillock Pavurallakonda (also known as Narsimhaswami Konda locally) in the town. Buddhist remains were found during the excavations here along with Relic caskets. Both the schools of Buddhism Hinayana and Mahayana were propagated in this land and also to the far east lands from the port of River Gosthani. See pavurallakonda page for more details. There is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Narasimha on the eastern side of Pavurallakonda facing the sea. As per the historical evidences the temple is constructed around 14th century by Mindi Kings. There are two more temples in the town of Bhimili, which date back to the times of Chola's as Bheemeswaralayam and Choleswaralayam. Known to the Dutch as Bimilipatnam, Bheemunipatnam was one among the major Dutch settlements of the Dutch Coromandel coast in the 17th century. There are remnants of the Dutch East India Company trading post when the town was a port. The town contains one of the oldest Christian cemeteries on the coast. Bhimili also had a currency mint during the times of Dutch. Portuguese also visited bhimili in the same time as the dutch. St.Peter's church is a historical monument which signifies the ancient architecture.