Barisal

Barisal was an erstwhile district of Bangladesh, but is now an administrative division. Barisal Town is the headquarters of the Division and lies on the delta of the Arial Khan or the Kirtonkhola river, which is a distributary of the Padma.

Barisal town was incorporated as a municipality in 1876 and was made into a corporation in the year 2002. It is accessible from Dhaka, which is 117 kilometers to the north, via steamer service, and which takes about 12 hours, and to Chittagong, which lies to the Southeast. After a number of bridges were built, transport by roads became much easier.

In early times, Barisal was called Chandradwipa, or the island of the moon. Bakla was the capital of Chandradwipa. The founder of the kingdom at Chandradwipa was Danuj Madhav or Danuj Mardhan Dev. Later it became the headquarters of the Backergunj District of British Eastern Bengal and Assam

This town and district gets its name from a peculiar natural phenomenon, a loud thundering sound, resembling a cannon shot that comes from the sea called the Barisal Guns.

Owing to its location, it is easily accessible from the sea as well as from the river. Thus, it has become an area, which is a transshipment point for rice, hides, pulses etc

There are a number of places in and around Barisal, which, will be of interest to tourists. 30 kms, out of Barisal city is the Durga Sagar. This is a large lake which is home to migratory birds in winter.

Near the Durga Sagar are the ruins of a zamindar palace. The Bell's park is a vast stretch of land near the river Kirtonkhola, inside the city of Barisal. This park offers respite to the residents of the city, from the drudgery of everyday living Kuakata is located about 320 kms from Dhaka and is a beach with breathtaking beauty .Other than this, The Ram Mohan Samadhi Mandir, Sharkal fort, Ebadullah Mosque, Aswini Kumar town Hall and Oxford Church are places worth visiting.

Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Jhalkathi, Potuakhali and Pirojpur are the districts into which, Barisal Division is divided. Barisal has always paid a lot of importance to education, thus, a lot of the country's premiere educational institutions are located here. Main amongst them is the Sher- e Bangla Medical College and Hospital, Barisal Medical College (est. 1889), Barisal BM College, Oxford Mission High School (est. 1990), Udayan High School, Baptist Mission Boys School, Baptist Mission Girl School, Barisal Zila School, Banaripara Union Institution (est. 1889), Pinglakathi Government Model Primary School etc.