Thrissur, also known by its former name Trichur is a district in Kerala. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode urban areas and the 20th largest in India.
Thrissur is also known as the “cultural capital of Kerala” because of its cultural, spiritual and religious leanings throughout history.
The city is built around a 65-acre hillock called the Thekkinkadu Maidan which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple. Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin. It is located 300 kilometres towards north-west of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
One of the main cultural events in Thrissur is the Thrissur Pooram, which attracts quite a number of tourists and travellers.
Good Morning Thrissur : The ‘Cultural Capital of Kerala’ – VIDEO
The name Thrissur is a shortened form Malayalam word Thiru-Shiva-Per-Ur (Lord-Shiva-Name-Town) literally translates to ‘A Big City or Town with the three places of worship of the “Lord Shiva”‘. The name owes itself to the most prominent feature of the city, that is the Vadakkumnathan Temple, which has Shiva as its presiding deity.
Alternately, Thri-Shiva-Perur means the place with three Shiva temples which are said to be – the Vadakkumnathan Temple, Kottapuram Shiva temple and the Poonkunnam Siva Temple. Thrissur was known by its anglicised name Trichur until 1990, when the government decided to replace it with its Malayalam name. Thrissur was also known as “Vrishabhadripuram” in ancient days.
The city is connected to the North-South Corridor National Highway (India) via the four-lane National Highway 544, previously NH 47. The highway traverses through the entire length and breadth of the city from different points and provides access to the nearby cities such of Kochi, Palakkad and Coimbatore. NH 544 provides two main exit points at Mannuthy and which is bypass to the Thrissur city and Thalore.
The city is largely dependent on private buses, Taxis and auto rickshaws (called autos) for public transport. A transit terminal mobility hub situated in Puzhakkal is also under wraps to be made on lines of Vyttila Mobility Hub to reduce traffic congestion is recently approved to be realised soon.
State-owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs inter-state, inter-district and city services. Thrissur has three bus stations, the Shaktan Thampuran Private Bus Stand, Thrissur in Sakthan Thampuran Nagar, Vadakke Stand (Northern Bus Stand) and the Thrissur KSRTC Bus Station near the Thrissur Railway Station.
State Highway (SH 69) Thrissur-Kuttippuram Road, SH 22 Kodungallur – Shornur Road, SH 75 Thrissur – Kanjani – Vadanappally Road are the three state highways which connect city with its suburbs and municipalities.