|
History of the Diocese
 The
Diocese of Chikmagalur was erected on Nov. 16,
1963, by Pope Paul VI with territory taken from
the Diocese of Mysore. Initially it covered the
three districts of Chikmagalur, Hassan and
Shimoga. Bishop Alphonsus Mathias served as the
first Bishop of Chikmagalur. The district of
Shimoga was detached in January, 1989, to form
part of the newly erected Diocese of Shimoga.
Nestled at 3,400ft in the Sahyadri mountains,
Chikmagalur is situated in the Western Ghats
region, a major watershed in the southwestern
part of Karnataka state. Typical of Ghat
topography, the town offers vistas of mountains,
streams, and coffee and pepper plantations. A
number of rivers — the Bhadra, Hemavathi, Tunga,
Netravathi, Vedavathi — originate in the hills
surrounding the town. It was here that coffee
was first cultivated in India, in 1670 by Baba
Budan. The revered Muslim leader had brought
coffee seeds from Yemen, and the Baba Budan
mountain range to the north of the town is named
after him. Later taken up by European planters,
coffee production and trade has been
Chikmagalur's main industry.
Read More.... |
