Visapur Fort (also called Visapoor Fort) is a hill fort near Visapur village in Maharashtra, India. It is a part of the Lohagad-Visapur fortification.
It is located in Pune district, 5 to 6 km from Malavli Railway station out of which 3 km is steep road. It has an elevation of 1084 meters above sea level.[1] It is built on the same plateau as Lohagad.
It was built during 1713-1720 CE by Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa of Maratha Empire.
Visapur fort was built much later than Lohagad but the histories of the two forts are closely linked.
In 1818, when reducing the Peshwa's forts, the strength of Lohagad and its fame as the treasury of the Maratha kingdom, caused the English to make special preparations for its attack. A detachment of 380 European and 800 native soldiers, with a battering train, summoned from Konkan, were joined by artillery from Chakan, and two other British battalions. On 4 March 1818, Visapur was attacked and occupied.
Making use of its higher elevation and proximity to Lohagad, the British troops set up their cannons on Visapur and bombarded Lohagad, forcing the Marathas to flee. Thus, in 1818, Lohagad-Visapur was taken over by the British in 1818 AD and placed under the command of a Colonel Prother. Considering, the strategic importance of Visapur, both the north (Konkan) and the south (Deccan) gateways were blown up, and except a few huts, nothing was left standing. In contrast, most of Lohagad fort is still intact.
