Srinagar [key], city (1981 est. pop. 588,000), Jammu and Kashmir, India, historic capital of Kashmir, on the Jhelum River. Situated in the Vale of Kashmir, Srinagar is one of the most beautiful summer resorts of Asia. Seven wooden bridges cross the Jhelum and connect the sections of the city. There are many canals, and transportation is chiefly by boat. Houseboats on the canals and nearby lakes serve as vacation hotels. In place of the hand-woven shawls (cashmeres) for which the city was famed, machine-made silks, woolens, and carpets are now manufactured. The city was founded in the 6th cent., and the 7th-century Sankaracharya temple may be its oldest historic remain. There is a 16th-century fort built by Akbar. The Hazratbal mosque has a putative hair of Muhammad. Extensive Buddhist ruins are also near the city. In 1948, Srinagar became the summer capital of the Indian sector of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019 it became the capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which was created from the western areas of the state. The Univ. of Kashmir is in the city.
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