Bella Vista is a

royal palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

of the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

during the existence of

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

, now located in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is an Indo-European building standing on a verdant campus. The building's French

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

named it Bella Vista, meaning ''beautiful sight'', since it overlooks the

Hussain sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...

lake. It is located in the

Saifabad Saifabad is one of the major suburbs in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The Ravindra Bharathi auditorium is located here. Transport TSRTC Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as TSRTC) is a state-owned corporation that ...

suburb and is modeled on the

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

Muslehuddin Mohammed, bar-at-law, became Chief Justice of the High Court of

and was given the title ''Hakim-ud-Dowla''. He constructed the palace as his residence in 1905. He lived there from 1905 to 1914 when he fell victim to plague at the age of 57. On his death in 1916, the family decided to sell the palace. The last Nizam purchased it, along with furniture, for Rs 60,000 in 1917. It was in this palace that the elder son of the Seventh Nizam-

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...

who was heir apparent to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...

of Hyderabad - Prince of Berar,

Azam Jah Azam Jah, Damat Walashan Sahebzada Nawab Sir Mir Himayat Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur Bayaffendi ( ur, اعظم جاہ داماد والاشان صاحب زادہ نواب سر میر حمایت علی خان بہادر بے آفندی) (21/22 Febru ...

lived with his wife,

Princess Durru Shehvar Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

.{{cite web, url= http://www.thefridaytimes.com/31122010/page29.shtml, title= A Song of Hyderabad, author= Bilquis Jehan Khan, publisher= thefridaytimes.com, access-date= 28 January 2012, archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222064747/http://www.thefridaytimes.com/31122010/page29.shtml, archive-date= 22 February 2014, url-status=dead Some of the famous visitors to the palace include

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

. It now houses the

Administrative Staff College of India Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), was started jointly by the Government of India and the representatives of industry as an autonomous institute in the year 1956 to impart training in the field of Civil Services development. It is loc ...

References

Hyderabad State Heritage structures in Hyderabad, India Royal residences in India Palaces in Hyderabad, India Palaces of Nizams of Hyderabad