Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the ''Bara Kothi'', is located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...

, in the

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 ...

n state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. It is situated near the bank of river Ganges. It was built in the nineteenth century by architect Duncan Macleod, under the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

(1824–1838). In 1985, the palace was handed over to the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

for better preservation. According to the

as mentioned in the

List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal This is a list of Monuments of National Importance (ASI) as officially recognized by and available through the website of the Archaeological Survey of India in the Indian state West Bengal.

, the Hazarduari Palace and Imambara ASI Listed Monuoments.

Kila Nizamat

Kila Nizamat or Nizamat Kila (Nizamat Fort) was the site of the old fort of Murshidabad. It was located on the present site of the Hazarduari Palace, on the banks of the

Bhagirathi river The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu fa ...

Etymology

The name of the palace that is Hazarduari means "a palace with a thousand doors". ''Hazar'' means "thousand" and ''Duari'' means "the one with doors"; thus, the total sums up to "the one with a thousand doors". The palace earlier known as ''Bara Kothi'' has been named so as the palace has in all 1000 doors, of which 100 are false. They were built so that if any predator tried to do something wrong and escape, he would be confused between the false and real doors, and by that time he would be caught by the Nawab's guards.

Museum

The palace has now been transformed into a museum which houses collections from the Nawabs like priceless paintings, furniture, antiques and so on. The famous one is the mirror and the chandelier. In 1985, the palace was handed over to the

for better preservation.

Miniature

A miniature of the palace,Palace's miniature
made by Sagore Mistri in ivory, along with portraits of His Highness and his son, among other presents, were sent to

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. He honoured the

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

with a full-size portrait of His Majesty and an autographed letter, and conferred upon him the badge and insignia of the Royal Guelphic and Hanoverian order, which are still preserved in the Palace.

Map

References

External links

* * {{Bengal Zamindars Palaces in West Bengal Tourist attractions in Murshidabad Buildings and structures in Murshidabad district Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal