Polonnaruwa grew up when the European cathedrals were being built, its temples and palaces, the ruins of which are scattered over several square kilometers , on the east bank of Parakrama Samudra are almost all the achievement of one king. This medieval city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site rose to fame as the capital for a hundred years before it became the symbol of the Sinhalese Renaissance, Polonnaruwa was the seat of power under Tamils from the mainland. In the middle of the 11C the Sinhalese princes of Ruhunu finally found a federating force in the person of Vijayabahu 1 . This king formed alliance with Burma and Indonesia to challenge the empire of the Chola in the Indian Ocean. The king was crowned in the holy city of Anuradhapura in 1073, keeping Polonnaruwa as his capital.