Thrissur, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and the 21st largest in India. Thrissur is classified as a Tier-2 city by the Government of India. The city is built around a 65-acre (26 ha) hillock called Thekkinkadu Maidanam which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple. It is located 284 kilometres (176 mi) north-west of the state's capital city, Thiruvananthapuram. Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin, and was a point of contact for the Assyrians, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch and English.