Tirunelveli - Tamilnadu

Tirunelveli (Tamil: திருநெல்வேலி, Tirunelveli ) and Thirunelveli, formerly anglicised Tinnevelly or Tinnevelli) is a town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is capital of the district. The population is 441 945 (calculated, as of January 1, 2006).

Tirunelveli is situated on the left bank of the Thamirabarani, barely 75 kilometers north west of Cape Comorin, the southernmost point of the Indian mainland, as well as 560 kilometers from Chennai. On the right bank of the river is the twin town of Palayamkottai.

The history goes back to the time of the early Pandya and Chola. In the 16 Century the city from the Nayaks of Madurai, which until the 18th Century ruled over them expanded. From these times are numerous Hindu temples, many of which are dedicated to the deity Shiva. Between 1542 and 1545, the Spanish-Portuguese missionary Francis Xavier worked in the city.

Tirunelveli is now a regional commercial and industrial center with cotton, food (especially sugar), tobacco and jewelry industry, and a large cement plant and several car repair shops. Since 1990, the city is also home to a university (Manonmaniam Sundaranar University).