History of Bangalore starts with the Chola rule in south India. Bangalore is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is draped over the Deccan Plateau at an altitude of 949 meters (3113 ft.) above sea level, which gives it possibly the best climate among all other cities in India.

The history of Bangalore states that the city Bangalore got its name from the words "Bendha KaaLu" (which means boiled beans in the local language Kannada). King Veera Ballala of the Vijayanagara kingdom was once lost in a forest and accidentally happened to stumble upon a lonely cottage. An old woman that lived there could offer the famished king only boiled beans "Bendha kaaLu" and the place came to be known as "Bendha kaaLu ooru" (ooru in Kannada means a city). BendhakaaLooru later was renamed as BengaLooru in Kannada and Bangalore in English. However, historical evidence shows that "BengaLooru" was recorded much before King Ballala`s time in a 9th century temple message in the village of Begur in form of an inscription. Even today "BengaLooru" exists within the city limits in Kodigehalli area and is known as "HalebengaLooru" or "Old Bangalore."

Kempe Gowda designed the present day city in the year 1537. During one of his hunting errands, which was his favourite past time, Kempe Gowda was amazed to see a hare chase his dog and thus started to call the place as "gandu bhoomi" (heroic place). Kempe Gowda I, who was in charge of Yelahanka, also built a mud fort in 1537 and with the help of King Achutaraya, built the minor towns of Balepet, Cottonpet and Chickpet, all inside the fort. Today, these little areas are the major wholesale and commercial market places in the city. Kempe Gowda`s son constructed the four watchtowers to mark the boundaries of Bangalore, which are traceable even today, and they stand almost in the heart of the present city.

The history of Bangalore states that in the year 1638, Shahajirao Bhonsle, father of Shivaji, captured the city. In 1687, Aurangzeb`s army detained Bangalore and sold it to the Wodeyars for an insignificant sum of Rs.300, 000. The Wodeyars then built the famous Lal Bagh in 1759, one of Bangalore`s most wonderfully laid out gardens. In the same year, Hyder Ali took the possession of Bangalore as a jagir from Krishnaraja Wodeyar II. He fortified the southern fort and made Bangalore an army town. When Tipu Sultan died in the 4th Mysore war in 1799, the British gave the kingdom to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, including Bangalore, but the British inhabitant stayed in Bangalore. In the commencement of the 19th century, the General Post Office was opened and the Cantonment was made nine years later in 1809. In 1831, owning to the disaster of misrule by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, the British took over the administration of the Mysore Kingdom.

Under the British influence, Bangalore advanced with modern facilities like the railways, telegraph, postal and police departments. In 1859, the first train was flagged out of the city and five years later in 1864, the lovely Sankey built Cubbon Park. The end of the century, the building of Attara Kacheri and the Bangalore Palace were laid down. The 20th century saw the arrival of the first motorcar in the city. In 1881, the British again returned the city to the Wodeyars. Dewans like Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir M Visveswaraya were the pioneers to help Bangalore get back its modern outlook. Since then, the city has grown in magnitudes, emerging into what one can see in the present day and know of this majestic city.

Bangalore is India`s fifth largest and the fastest growing city in Asia, also known as Garden City. Before the developments in the last few decades, Bangalore was a well laid out city with many large gardens, which provided it the name, the Garden City. The history of Bangalore thus declares the city traditionally to be a retreat for people from the surrounding south Indian regions. Even today, the history of Bangalore finds its place in several heritage buildings through its inscriptions.