The Chimnabai Clock Tower, also known as the Raopura Tower, is a
clock tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
situated in the
Raopura
Raopura is an area of Vadodara city, Gujarat, 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 democr ...
area of
Vadodara,
Gujarat,
India. It was completed in 1896 and named in memory of
Chimnabai I
Maharani Chimnabai I (18647 May 1885) was a queen and the first wife of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of the princely state of Baroda (now in Gujarat), British India. Several memorials were built by Sayajirao following her early death.
Bio ...
(1864–1885), a
queen and the first wife of
Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
of
Baroda State
Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...
. It was built in
Indo-Saracenic architecture style.
History
Chimnabai Clock Tower was built in 1896.
The tower was named after Chimnabai I (1864–1885), a queen and the first wife of Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda State.
It was inaugurated by Mir Kamaluddin Hussainkhan, the last Nawab of Baroda.
During the rule of Gaekwad, it was a stoppage for
horse drawn trams. The clock tower was erected at the cost of .
It was constructed from the funds raised by the citizens of Baroda State.
The premises of the tower were rented by the
Vadodara Municipal Corporation for the last three decades. In 2017, the municipal commissioner, Vinod Rao, ordered to vacate the tower to conserve it as a heritage monument.
The mechanical system of the tower clock was replaced by DC motor.
The tower is lit up in the evening.
Architecture
The tower was built in
Indo-Saracenic architecture style.
The five storied tower is built with red bricks. The ground floor has a narrow spiral staircase that leads to upper floors. The first three floors have cusped arched openings decorated with fine stucco work on each side.
A huge clock made by
John Taylor & Co was brought from
London by Sayajirao and fitted to fourth floor.
The clock is six feet in diameter
and its minute hand is of 3 feet in length.
The top floor is octagonal. It has the
jharokha with
jali-work on all eight sides of the parapet. A steeple stands at the top.
Chimes
During the Gaekwad rule, the mechanical system was used to play tunes every 15 minutes, which later changed to every hour. Later, the mechanical system was replaced by an electric connection and now the chimes are muted.
See also
*
Chimnabai Lake
Chimnabai Lake is located near Kadarpur village in Kheralu Taluka, Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The lake was created by Baroda State ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad III in memory of his deceased wife Chimnabai I
Maharani Chimn ...
*
Nyay Mandir
The Nyay Mandir, , is a court building in Vadodara in the state of Gujarat, western India.
History
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, ruler of Baroda State, opened the building on 30 November 1896 and named it after his deceased wife Chimnaba ...
References
External links
Raopura Tower Gujarat Tourism
History of Vadodara{{Vadodara topics
Towers completed in 1896
Clock towers in India
Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture
Clock towers