Gateway of India
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The Gateway of India is a monument in the form of a centrally raised triumphal arch reinforced by pillars on Thane Creek in Mumbai , India . It is one of the landmarks of the country.
history
Mumbai's most famous landmark, the Gateway of India, was built between 1911 and 1924 in the Colaba district according to plans by George Wittet (1878-1926), on whose drawing board many of the city's finest buildings were designed. The opening ceremony took place on December 4, 1924 Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935), the Viceroy of India at the time .
India's own honey-colored triumphal arch was built in memory of the visit of King George V (1865–1936) and his wife Maria von Teck (1867–1953). The royal couple were on their way to Delhi Durbar and set foot on Indian soil for the first time in what was then Bombay in 1911 (it was the first ever visit by a ruling British monarch to India). The building was originally intended as a ceremonial landing point for passengers arriving on P&O steamers.
The irony of history, however, wanted the British to choose this place to say goodbye to India forever: On February 28, 1948, the last remaining troops on Indian soil - the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry - boarded here the Empress of Australia .
architecture
The three portals of the approximately 50 m wide and 26 m high structure built in the Indo-Saracen style are of different widths and heights. The raised middle part is additionally emphasized by 4 small corner turrets; its passage is spanned by a dome with a diameter of approx. 14.50 m and a top height of approx. 25 m. The two lateral openings are made smaller by stone lattices ( jalis ) ; the domes inside are smaller and lower. The horizontal cornices with their supporting consoles are optically and aesthetically significant for the external effect .
present
Today only boats moor at the foot of the stone stairs, which bring passengers through the bay of Thane Creek past the harbor to Elephanta Island .
The square around the gateway is very popular for evening walks. One end is lined with the equestrian statue of Shivaji , the Marathic warlord who resisted the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb during his final years in the second half of the 17th century . The statue is revered and is often adorned with a marigold garland. The right-wing extremist Shiv Sena party named Shivaji the “son of earth” as the national symbol.
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 55 '19.2 " N , 72 ° 50' 4.4" E