Mysore Palace or Amba Vilas Palace built in the heritage city Mysuru is a historical place and was residence of the Wodeyars of Karnataka. It is one of the most visited places in India after the Taj Mahal with almost 6 million annual visitors. To be precise, Mysore Palace is the second most visited monument in India. The palace is situated in the center part of Mysore making it even more authoritative.
In the same area, there was an old wooden palace built to finally get destroyed by a fire accident. In 1896, during the marriage event of Queen Jayalakshmi Ammanni, the fire accident took place. As the palace was completely made up of wood, it didn’t take much time for the flame to spread around. Although many important valuable masterpieces were destroyed, most of them were saved through secretly dug tunnels. After the incident, in 1897 the very famous Mysore Palace’s construction was started, to be finally completed in 1912. Although, the construction of the main palace was completed in 1912, there were additions and alterations made inside the palace ground as time passed on.
Details
Name: Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas Palace)
Location: City: Mysore
State: Karnataka
Country: India
Address: Sayyaji Rao Road, Agrahara, Chamarajapura, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Pin Code: 570001
Coordinates: GPS: 12° 18′ 18.4644” N
76° 39′ 19.5696” E
Latitude & Longitude: 12.305129, 76.655436
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/husCmyqjdCNcCaxv7
Architectural Style: Indo-Saracenic
Architect: Henry Irwin
Construction Duration: 15 Years (1897 – 1912)
Cost: 41,47,913 Rupees (55,786 Dollars) in 1912
Length: 245 feet
Breadth: 156 feet
Height: 145 feet
Area: 72 Acres
Entrance: 4 Gates
Owner: Wodeyars (Wadiyar)
Maintenance: Government of Karnataka
Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM
Working: Everyday
Ticket Price: Indians: Adults: 70 Rupees (0.94 Dollars)
Above 10 and Below 18: 30 Rupees (0.40 Dollars)
Below 10 years: Free
Foreigners: Adults: 70 Rupees (0.94 Dollars) (may be subject to change)
Above 10 and Below 18: 30 Rupees (0.40 Dollars) (may be subject to change)
Below 10 years: Free
Photography: 30 Rupees(0.40 Dollars)
Videography: 100 Rupees(1.34 Dollars)
Website: https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/
Online Ticket Booking Link: https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/book-tickets.php
Details
Name: Mysore Palace (Amba Vilas Palace)
Location: City: Mysore
State: Karnataka
Country: India
Address: Sayyaji Rao Road, Agrahara, Chamarajapura, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Pin Code: 570001
Coordinates: GPS: 12° 18′ 18.4644” N
76° 39′ 19.5696” E
Latitude & Longitude: 12.305129, 76.655436
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/husCmyqjdCNcCaxv7
Architectural Style: Indo-Saracenic
Architect: Henry Irwin
Construction Duration: 15 Years (1897 – 1912)
Cost: 41,47,913 Rupees (55,786 Dollars) in 1912
Length: 245 feet
Breadth: 156 feet
Height: 145 feet
Area: 72 Acres
Entrance: 4 Gates
Owner: Wodeyars (Wadiyar)
Maintenance: Government of Karnataka
Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM
Working: Everyday
Ticket Price: Indians: Adults: 70 Rupees (0.94 Dollars)
Above 10 and Below 18: 30 Rupees (0.40 Dollars)
Below 10 years: Free
Foreigners: Adults: 70 Rupees (0.94 Dollars) (may be subject to change)
Above 10 and Below 18: 30 Rupees (0.40 Dollars) (may be subject to change)
Below 10 years: Free
Photography: 30 Rupees(0.40 Dollars)
Videography: 100 Rupees(1.34 Dollars)
Website: https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/
Online Ticket Booking Link: https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/book-tickets.php
The old fort was built by Adi Yaduraya Wodeyar in 14th Century, and the current palace was built by Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. The Palace has a total of 4 Entrance Gates namely Jaya Marthanda, Jayarama, Balarama, Varaha Gate. However, Jaya Marthanda is the main gate of the Palace which is situated to the East, Jayarama Gate is situated to the North, Balarama Gate is situated to the South, and Varaha Gate is situated to the West and is the only Entrance Gate for public visitors. There are around 12 Temples associated with the Palace namely, Lakshmiramana Swamy Temple, Prasanna Krishnaswamy Temple, Shwetha Varahaswamy Temple, Ambujavalli Temple, Gayatri Temple, Trineswaraswamy Temple, Kodi Someshwara Temple, Kodi Bhairava Temple, Bhuvaneshwari Temple, Kote Anjaneya Temple, Kote Ganapathy Temple, Kille Venkataramana Swamy Temple, Mariamma Temple.
The mighty palace also had many tunnels which were secretly dug, which would help Kings to escape from the unprecedented attacks from other rulers around the world, and also to protect their materialistic wealth from getting looted or destroyed by accident or natural causes. There were totally 3 Tunnels that connected the Palace to elsewhere. The First Tunnel connected the Palace to Srirangapatna Fort. The Second Tunnel connected the Palace to Chamundi Hill. The Third Tunnel connected the Palace to the Rajendra Vilas Palace. These are the known Tunnels, and there might be many other Tunnels which are unknown, but as Mysore Palace is one of the very important monuments in the country, nobody can explore it full monty.
The Palace in its several floored building, has many valuable royal family items, ancient arms, guns etc. It also has the famous Golden Howdah ( Golden Ambaari) which weighs around 750 kg, which is used at the Dasara (Dussehra) Festival Procession. The building contains several halls including the famous Durbar Hall where the King and his courtiers used to have Durbar (Discussion, Verdict, Planning, etc), and the hall where the king used to view the outer part of the Palace, A Marriage Hall, Wrestling Courtyard etc. It is also a place for many animals like elephants, horses, and cows. Along with the Beauty that’s already extravagant, the Palace has 97,000 lights which will Illuminate the palace in the noon, and at the time of Dasara Festival.
The current Mysore Palace is the fourth palace and not the first palace to be built in that area. The first palace was built in 1399 which was standing tall and fine until 1638 when lightning struck the palace and had to be rebuilt by Kantirava Narasa Raja Wodeyar. So this second palace was far from getting affected by natural calamities or human errors but not from political instabilities. After the death of Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar in 1704, the whole reign of Mysore moved into unstable condition, that’s when Tippu Sultan demolished the palace in 1793 and constructed his summer palace in Srirangapattana. After the death of Tippu sultan in 1799, Krishna Raja Wodeyar who was just 5 years old assumed the Kingship and had to rebuild the Palace in the Hindu architectural style. The construction of the Palace was completed in 1803. The Wodeyars had got back their hold on Mysore State (at present Karnataka), and the palace was also standing good but, as the palace was made up of wood, it didn’t survive the fire accident in 1896, so the palace had to be built all over again in 1897 which was finally completed in 1912, and this is the current prestigious, priceless, Royal Mysore Palace. Along with all the amenities, the palace also had its own lake just beside it. The lake was called Doddakere, and can be seen even today but with no water. The Parking lot which is next to the Mysore Exhibition is the actual Lake named Doddakere which was used by Wodeyars and the citizens of Mysore. Even today, if there is heavy rain in that part of the city, one can see it forms itself as a lake. This lake was believed to be the biggest lake in Mysore before drying up.
The Mysore Palace is the place where the India’s one of the important festival, Dasara (Dussehra) is celebrated Majestically.
The Grand Mysore Palace which was under the control of the Mysore Wadiyars from 1399, was taken in charge by the Government of Karnataka at the time of Independence, but still Wodeyars remain as the owner of the property.
References and Images:
https://www.mysorepalace.gov.in/
