Kondaveedu Fort

Kondaveedu Fort  is located in Kondaveedu village in the Chilakaluripet constituency of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a hill fortress located 1,700 feet (520 m) above m.s.l. Apart from this main fort, there are two other forts (names not known) nearby. All three forts are now in ruins.Kondaveedu Fort was constructed by Prolaya Vema Reddy. Later it was ruled by the Reddy dynasty between 1328 and 1428 and then taken over by Gajpathis of Orissa later ravaged by the Muslim rulers of the Bahmani kingdom (1458). TheVijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya captured it in 1516. The Golconda Sultans fought for the fort in 1531, 1536 and 1579, and Sultan Quli Qutb Shah finally captured it in 1579, renaming it Murtuzanagar.The fort came under the control of the French colonists in 1752 when it was extensively fortified. It passed on to the Englishimperialists who got control of the fort in 1788 but abandoned it in early 19th century in favour of Guntur. Now, the massive fortifications and battlements are seen in ruins only. The interior has extensive ruins of magazines and storehouses.