Shettihalli Rosary Church, Gothic church ruins in Karnataka, India
Shettihalli Rosary Church is a Gothic church ruin beside the Hemavathi reservoir in Karnataka, India. The stone walls rise from the flat landscape and still show pointed arches, window openings, and portions of the original masonry.
French missionaries built the structure in the 1860s for the local Christian community. In the 1960s, the reservoir was created and residents left the village, leaving the church to fall into ruin.
The ruin takes its name from a Catholic devotional practice and now stands abandoned in the Karnataka countryside. Visitors can still see the stone arches and walls that recall its former role as a house of worship.
The site is easiest to walk through from December to May when the water level is low. During monsoon months, the water rises and surrounds the ruin, so you can only view it from a distance.
The building stands at the edge of the reservoir and is partially flooded every year from June to October. When the water recedes, traces of algae and sediment remain visible on the stones.
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