Nagapattinam is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The city rose to prominence during the medieval Chola period (9th-12th centuries AD) and served as an important port for trading and naval expeditions to the east. The Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam, built by the Srivijayan king Sri Mara Vijayattungavarman of the Sailendra dynasty with the help of Rajaraja Chola I, was an important Buddhist structure at that time. Nagapattinam was inhabited by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch, under whom it was the capital of the Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to 1781. In November 1781 the city was conquered by the British East India Company. It served as the capital of Tanjore district from 1799 to 1845 under the British Madras Presidency. It remained part of the Thanjavur district in independent India. In 1991, it became the headquarters of the newly created Nagapattinam district. Nagapattinam is administered as a special grade municipality covering an area of 17.92 km2 (6.92 sq mi) and had a population of 102,905 in 2011.
The majority of the population of Nagapattinam is engaged in maritime trade, fishing, agriculture and tourism. Kayarohanaswami Temple and Soundararajaperumal Temple, Nagapattinam, are the major Hindu pilgrimage sites. Nagapattinam is the tourist base of Sikkal, Velankanni, Poompuhar, Kodiakkarai, Vedaranyam and Tharangambadi. Roads are the main mode of transportation to Nagapattinam, while the city is also served by rail and sea transportation.
