Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan. The city is known as a cultural and educational hub of West Bengal. The city is under the jurisdiction of Bolpur and Santiniketan Police station. Bolpur is the largest and most populous city in Birbhum district and 28th most populous city in West Bengal. Located on the banks of Ajay River and Kopai River, Bolpur has been a major human settlement. It is 150 km north of Kolkata and is famous for Visva Bharati, the University set up by the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other important cities are Bolpur, Rampurhat and Sainthia. Jamtara, Dumka and Pakur districts of the state of Jharkhand lie at the western border of this district; the border in other directions is covered by the districts of Bardhaman and Murshidabad of West Bengal.