Umaid Bhavan Palace
The Umaid Bhavan Palace is a palace located a little east of Jodhpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan .
prehistory
From 1911 to 1947 the Maharaja Svasti Shri Rajadhiraja Sahib Umaid Singh II. Bahadur (born March 7, 1876, † 1947) ruled the princely state of Marwar-Jodhpur as the thirty-sixth scion of his dynasty . This was first mentioned in a document around 1300. It extended over an area of 93,240 square kilometers in northwest India.
When a drought hit the region around Jodhpur in the mid-1920s , the Maharaja decided - ostensibly following the advice of his court astrologer - to build a palace to provide work for the starving population. For this he consulted the English architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester , who had also designed several buildings for the former British King Edward VII .
Construction and architecture
The foundation stone of the complex was laid on November 18, 1929 by the Maharaja in the nearby Chittar Hills . For this reason, a common colloquial name for the building is still Chittar Palace today . It took almost 3,000 workers about 14 years to build the sandstone palace . What is remarkable here is that neither mortar nor cement was used as a binding agent for the stones, but rather held them together with a sophisticated system of joints. The construction costs amounted to around 12,100,000 Indian rupees , which the prince financed from his private assets.
From an architectural point of view, the building is a mixture of eastern and western architectural styles . While the 56 meter high dome is reminiscent of the Renaissance, the smaller towers were designed in the tradition of the Rajputs . The majority of the building, however, like the interior in the 347 rooms, is in the Art Deco style that was customary at the time . The palace is 195 meters long, 103 meters wide and occupies an area of 14,000 square meters. The gardens extend over 61,000 square meters .
Political situation after the completion of the palace
Four years after the completion of the complex, the Maharaja died and his son Hanwant Singh was appointed as his successor. A few weeks later, Great Britain granted India independence. With the establishment of the Federal Republic, the princely states lost their autonomy . Marwar-Jodhpur went up along with 22 other principalities in the new state of Rajasthan. The Maharajas were allowed to keep their titles of nobility, but no longer had any political say.
Hanwant Singh was killed in an airplane accident in 1952. His only four-year-old son Gaj Singh II (born January 13, 1948) became the new head of the House of Rathore .
Todays situation
Since the Umaid Bhavan Palace was in a bad structural condition for a long time, but Maharaja Gaj Singh II lacked the money for a comprehensive renovation, he decided at the beginning of the 1970s to divide the building into three sections. This measure was carried out in 1972.
The first section now houses a 5-star hotel with 94 rooms, the second has been converted into a museum. Tourists can see old paintings, weapons, clocks, vases and other ancient objects here, as well as a theater, an underground hospital, the main hall, the ballroom , the swimming pool and the castle park. The last part is still used by the noble family as a living area.
The hotel is the most expensive in Jodhpur and the palace is believed to be the largest privately owned building in the world. The facility is illuminated at night.
Web links
Coordinates: 26 ° 17 ' N , 73 ° 3' E