Bhubaneswar About this sound pronunciation is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. Once the capital of ancient Kalinga, the city has a long history of 3000 years[citation needed] and is today a center of economic and religious importance. Historically Bhubaneswar has been known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Khetra and Mandira Malinya Nagari.The modern city of Bhubaneswar was designed by the German architect Otto K�nigsberger in 1946. It became the political capital of the state of Odisha in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain. Before Bhubaneswar, Cuttack was the capital of Odisha until 1947. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are together known as the "twin cities" of Odisha. As per a comprehensive development plan prepared by IIT Kharagpur[1], the metropolitan area formed by both has a 2008 population of 1.9 million. The World gazetteer[2] has the metro area population estimated at 1,666,429. With its large number of Hindu temples, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a Temple City of India. These temples span the entire history of Kalinga architecture.