City Palace Alwar

The City Palace was built by Raja Bakhtayar Singh in the year 1793. The building is a perfect blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture. The architecture of the city palace consists of marble pavilions with lotus shaped designs in the large central courtyard. An elevated door shaped pavilion is built within the Vinay Vilas Mahal, which depicts the pride and honor of Rajput kingdoms.

This palace is a two storey building which is now taken up by Government for different offices on the ground floor and the Alwar Government Museum on the floor above. On display in the museum are some ancient Mughal and Rajput painting dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum has a rich collection of some rare and antique Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Sanskrit manuscripts. Amongst these manuscripts, the most prominent ones include Bostan, Waqiat-e-Babri and Gulistan. Other attractions of the museum consist of an array of Indian armory weapons and a copy of Mahabharata, painted by Alwar artists.

There is an artificial lake within the vicinity of City Palace, which was built by Maharaja Vinay Singh in 1815. There are also a number of temples on the banks of the lake. The striking construction inside the palace is the chhatri (cenotaph) that has a Bengali styled roof and arches. This is known as Moosi Maharani Ki chhatri. Within this chhatri a beautiful garden had been setup. This garden is known as Purjan Vihar. It was built in 1868 by Maharaja Shiv Dan Singh. It was further beautified by Maharaja Mangal Singh in 1885. This garden is an ideal picnic spot in summers providing lush green surrounding & numerous trees.

History of City Palace Alwar
Alwar is one of the oldest cities of Rajasthan and it has always been a favorite place for the archaeologists. The Alwar city is settled in the year past 1500BC. It is also called Matsya Desh as Pandavas had spent thirteen years at this place. Alwar is the best place where you can take a relaxed walk through the many forts and tombs that depict the picture of olden times. Built by Raja Bakhtayar Singh in the year 1793, Vinay Vilas Mahal depicts the architectural beauty of the bygone era.

Structure and Architecture of City Palace
One of the most beautiful palaces in the city of Alwar in Rajasthan, City Palace is a perfect blend of Indo – Islamic architecture with huge entry gates and several stunning marble domes. The palace reflects the ornate lifestyle of the Maharajas and even has a beautiful drinking cup that is cut out of a single emerald as a part of its treasury along with a mammoth, a two-storied elephant carriage, in its stables. The ceilings and walls of the palace feature beautiful and exotic murals and paintings with intrinsic mirror work and vibrant colors.

The most exciting attractions of the palace are the huge marble pavilions that are built on several lotus bases. However, the palace courtyard is the one that attracts majority of the tourist attention. It even has a huge water tank, Sagar Kund, which was used to supply water in the olden days. The palace stretches 5 kilometers east to west and stands 1952 feet above the sea level. It is believed that the famous Mughal Emperor Babar had stayed a night in the palace and took away many hidden jewels and treasures to give to his son – Humayun.

Legend has it that Mughal King Akbar’s son – Jahangir also stayed over here during his exile. The room where he spent his nights is called Salim Mahal. One must definitely visit the golden Durban Hall in the palace, which is known for its spectacular golden and velvet throne on a raised platform. Currently, the palace is used by the Rajasthani government and majority of the halls and corridors on the ground floor of the palace has been converted into offices used by the government officers.
With 51 small towers and 15 tall towers, it can take a visitor about one to two hours to tour the entire palace. There are mainly six entry points namely Jai, Suraj, Kishan, Laxman, Andheri Gate and Chand Pol, each unique in their own way.