Bahadur Bhawan (initially known as Char Burja Durbar) is a Rana palace in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, the capital of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The palace complex, located west of

Jamal Jamal ( ar, جمال ''/'') is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "beauty",Jamal
at BehindTheName.com and a surna ...

, north of

Keshar Mahal Kaiser Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located west of the Narayanhity Palace, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. History The palace complex ...

was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. Initially the palace was built by

Bir Shumsher JBR Commanding General Shree 3 Maharaja Sir Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (10 December 1852 – 5 March 1901) was the 11th Prime Minister of Nepal. He is remembered as a statesman who made reforms and infrastructure improvements. Bir Shamsher Jung ...

and was rebuilt by Rudra Shumsher JBR after its destruction by fire in BS 1962.

History

The palace complex lay in the heart of Kathmandu, to the north of the

Thamel Thamel ( ne, ठमेल) is a commercial neighborhood located in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Thamel has been the centre of the tourist industry in Kathmandu for over four decades, starting from the hippie days, when many artists came to Ne ...

and North of Naachghar.

Under Rana

The Char Burg Durbar was built by

as a private residence in a property of 180 Ropanis. Immediately after construction Bir Shumsher handed this property to his third son Rudra Shumsher JBR, who moved to this palace after Bir Shumsher JBR's death in 1959 BS. In 1962 BS Char Burg Durbar was severely damaged after having caught fire. Re-construction of this palace started in the same year by the same architect Jog Lal Sthaphit on the same old foundation. During this new construction four Burg were constructed thus naming it Char Burg Durbar which literally translates Four Burg Palace. In 1990 BS Rudra Shumsher JBR was exiled to Palpa by

Juddha Shumsher JBR Field Marshal Shree Shree Shree Maharaja Sir Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana ( ne, जुद्ध शम्शेर जङ्गबहादुर राणा) (19 April 1875 in Narayanhity Palace, Kathmandu – 20 November 1952 in Dehrad ...

thus occupying Char Burg Durbar and gave it to his second son Bahadur Shumsher JBR. Later Bahadur Shumsher renamed it Bahadur Bhawan.

Hotel Royal

In 2007 BS (1950 AD) after the fall of Rana Regime Prince Basundhara Bir Bikram Shah bought Bahadur Bhawan for 18 million Nepali Rupees and along with the Russian national

Boris Lisanevich Boris Nikolayevich Lisanevich (, russian: Борис Николаевич Лисаневич; 1905 –1985) was a ballet dancer, a hotelier and a restaurateur. He helped pave the way for tourism in Nepal, when he opened the country's first h ...

established Nepal’s first luxury hotel, Hotel Royal. There is a record of Hotel Royal being used by visitors to the Coronation of

Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...

on Feb 12, 1959.

Under Government of Nepal

After being unsuccessful in business Prince Basundhara Bir Bikram Shah sold Bahadur Bhawan to the government of Nepal. Currently the palace is occupied by Office of the Vice President and The Election Commission.

Earthquake 2015

Bahadur Bhawan suffered minor damage during the

April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme ...

and was designated safe and received a yellow sticker. The Office of the Vice President and the Election Commission may have to move because the rear of the building was heavily damaged, with cracks in the ceilings and walls. The future of the historic building is unknown.

References