Chandigarh is the capital city of both Punjab and Haryana.
The city is named after the goddess Chandi Mata of Panchkula.
Chandigarh is situated near the foothills of the Sivalik mountain ranges. The UT is surrounded by Haryana on the east and Punjab on all other sides.
Chandigarh is one of the early planned cities in independent India. Chandigarh was the dream city of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Chandigarh is locally known as ‘the City Beautiful’.
Chandigarh is also called the Greenest City in India.
The master plan of the Chandigarh city was mapped out by the French architect Le Corbusier. There is no sector 13 in Chandigarh. Since the architect, Le Corbusier was Christian so number 13 was inauspicious as per his belief and never a part of the Chandigarh city. Le Corbusier also put one condition that there would be no statute or sculpture in any of the parks and roundabouts in the city. So till now, the roundabouts of the city are free of statues and sculptures.
The city has Roundabouts at regular intervals to ensure smooth ply of traffic on the road. Chandigarh is also known as the ‘City of Roundabouts’. The roundabouts are decorated with plants.
Chandigarh along with Panchkula of Haryana and Mohali of Punjab are jointly known as ‘Tricity’.
In 2016, the Capitol Complex of Chandigarh was listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The official symbol of the city is an Openhand Monument. The 26 meters high symbol implies peace and represents “to give and to offer”.
The Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in Chandigarh is completely built of waste and thrown-away items from homes and industries.
Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in Chandigarh is the largest Rose Garden in Asia. The garden spreads over 30 acres of land and contains over 16000 different species of rose.