The Amba Vilas Palace, known as the Mysore palace
The Amba Vilas Palace, known as the Mysore palace, is located in the southern state of Karnataka, a historical treasure and royal residence model in Mysore. The palace for six centuries belongs to the Mysore Vadiyar dynasty.
Mysore City is usually described as the "City of the Palace". There, in fact, you can count at least seven palaces, including Amba Vilas, but the latter refers to the land of Fort. The area where the palace stands was originally called Uragiri (castle), now known as the Old Fort.
The first Mysore King, Yaduraya, built a palace here in the 14th century, repeatedly destroyed in the following centuries and rebuilt several times. The last project appeared at the turn of the XIX-XX century. For its execution, take the British architect Lord Henry Irving. Together with the architect working on an executive engineer the project Ulu Raghav Naidu, who has a sophisticated architectural research, visited Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata - all taken into account during the planning of the new palace. Maharaja Krishnaraya Vadiyar IV spent about $ 4 million for the construction of the royal residence, and in 1912 the work was completed. Over the next 30 years, the palace continues to be rebuilt and expanded.
The architectural style of the palace is represented in the Indo-Saracenic tradition, with Mughal-style, Rajput and Gothic inclusions. A three-story stone building of gray granite with a pink marble dome has a facade with several arches and supporting pillars. Above the center arch is placed the statue of the Goddess Mahal, the protector of wealth, prosperity and abundance. Around the palace there is a vast park, the road through the entrance gate with the emblem and the emblem of Mysore leading to the royal chamber.
The palace has three entrances: east - ceremonial, south - for public and west - for a special holiday. In addition, the palace laid many secret passages, leading to distant places and tunnels around Mysore Shrirangapatnam.
In the Old Benteng area there are three churches, and several other temple buildings are located in the palace complex. In Amba Vilas - two main halls, one of which is meant for ceremonies, and the other - for royal court meetings.
In the Hall for a private audience can be reached through the door, engraved proficiently from rosewood wood and decorated with ivory. The center of the hall is decorated with gold-plated columns, glass windows, patterned lattices and magnificent chandeliers. It was a room where the king received people who deserved special attention.
The famous place in the palace is a stuffed pavilion. That part goes through the gallery, where a collection of traditional XIX dolls and early XX century were collected. The Pavilion also exhibits a collection of European and Indian statues. Particular attention was given to Hatha-khauda, adorned with gold objects weighing 84 kg.
Kalyan Mantap octagonal pavilion is adorned with colorful glass ceilings with peacock motifs. Panel for this room was collected in Glasgow Scotland. The floor is paved with artistic tiles of the same motif, brought from England. On the walls painted oil paintings on the theme of royal procession and holidays.
In addition to many other beautifully decorated rooms, there is also a public durbar in the palace, where residents can meet with the authorities at the appointed time to apply.
Capture the attention and collection of Armory c of all the weapons that the royal family enjoyed over the centuries. Here you can see both weapons of the XIV century, as well as samples beginning of the XX century.
It is currently used in most of the Indian Government's palaces. Only a small part of the building at the west gate departed in 1996 to the Maharani royal family. There is currently a lawsuit on property rights. After Maharaja's death in 2013, the plaintiff in dispute is his wife Maharani Pramoda Davy Vadiyar.
Mysore Palace - one of the most famous landmarks in India after the Taj Mahal, is visited annually by over six million tourists.