Hill Palace is an archaeological museum and

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

located in the

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...

neighbourhood of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

city 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

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It is the largest archeological museum in the state and was the imperial administrative office and official residence of the Cochin Maharaja. Built in 1865, the palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional architectural style, spreading across . The complex has an archaeological museum, a

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

museum, a

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

park, a pre-historic park and a children's park. The campus of the museum is home to several rare species of medicinal plants. Presently the palace has been converted into a museum by The Kerala State Archaeology Department and is open to public. The palace is about from the city centre and is reachable by road and rail. The Centre for Heritage Studies (CHS), an autonomous research and training institute set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs,

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

also functions at the site. CHS is designated as the 'Manuscript Conservation Centre' (MCC) and Manuscript Resource Centre (MRC) by the

National Mission for Manuscripts The National Mission for Manuscripts (NAMAMI) is an autonomous organisation under Ministry of Culture, Government of India, established to survey, locate and conserve Indian manuscripts, with an aim to create national resource base for manuscri ...

History

Hill_palace_horse_cart_room_back_of_palace

Hill Palace was built in 1865 by the Maharaja of Cochin and is now the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. The official capital of the Kingdom of Kochi was previously located in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

, and the royal office of the maharaja as well as the court was all located in the city. However, as per ritualistic customs, the seat of the queen of Kochi (Penvazhithampuran), was seen as the royal capital, as the Kochi royal family had matrilineal traditions and the queen was regarded as sovereign of the state under whose authority the king ruled. Since 1755, the queen and her retinue lived in Tripunithura, thereby making the city as the official capital. Further, the prince Rama Varma was raised in Tripunithura, thus he preferred to live in that city even after his coronation as king, rather than moving to Thrissur. Thus, for his benefit, a royal office was constructed in 1865. Initially it started off as a royal office, court building and offices of royal secretaries and nobles of the court, and soon an increasing number of structures were added to the main structure for various purposes. Soon, an imperial residence building was also constructed for the residence of the king and his immediate family, although other members of the Cochin royal family had their own allocated bungalows and official residences. The palace was handed over to the government of Kerala by the

Cochin royal family The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

, and in 1980 the palace was taken over by the Department of Archaeology and later converted into a museum. It was opened to the public in 1986. The museum and its campus is are popular shooting locations for the Malayalam film industry. The horse cart gallery and weapons gallery houses numerous historical artifacts. The museum gardens are also some of the last green refuge of the town. A checklist of fauna found within the gardens, prepared by Sandeep Varma and Gokul Vinayan, has been published under the title 'The Fauna of Hill Palac

Museum

The

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

displays 14 categories of exhibits, including Crown and ornaments of erst during the Cochin royal family's reign,

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s in stone and marble, weapons,

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s, and coins. The major share of attractions in the museum are contributed by the

with some exhibits from the

Paliam Paliath Achan or Paliyath Achan is the name given to the oldest male member of the Paliam royal family, a Nair/ Menon chieftain family from the Indian state of Kerala who were elevated to the status of royalty by the Rajah of Kingdom of Cochin ( ...

Devaswom and the department of

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. The museum collection includes a gold crown embedded with precious stones and many valuable coins, ornaments, majestic beds, and samples of

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

. The famous Malayalam movie

Manichitrathazhu ''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam, and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana with Nedumudi Venu ...

was shot here. The palace is open to public everyday from 10 AM to 12.30 PM and 2 PM to 5 PM except Mondays and national or state holidays.

In the media

The Hill Palace has been the location for many films in Malayalam. is the most famous movie shot at this location, but many film makers have utilized this place for shooting purpose. Some of the popular films shot in the palace include ''

Moonnam Mura ''Moonnam Mura'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by K. Madhu and written by S. N. Swamy. Starring Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Lalu Alex, Revathi, and Mukesh. The plot deals with a terrorist group kidnapping a grou ...

'' (1988), ''

'' (1993), ''

Pingami ''Pingami'' () is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Reghunath Paleri based on his own short story ''Kumarettan Parayaatha Kadha''. It was produced by Mohanlal through the company ...

'' (1994), ''

Kaliyoonjal Kaliyoonjalu is a 1997 Malayalam drama, film starring Mammootty, Shalini, Shobana and Dileep. It was directed by Anil Babu and produced by Siyad Koker under the banner of Koker Films and was a commercial success. The film completed 50 days in M ...

'' (1997), ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' (2000), '' Chotta Mumbai'' (2007) etc.

Gallery

Image:Thripunithura Hill Palace 2.jpg Image:Hill Palace Cochin (23656703924).jpg Image:Hill Palace by GV-4.JPG Image:Hill Palace by GV-6.JPG Image:Fiberglass model of dinosaur, Hill Palace, Tripunithura (July 2011).jpg Image:Thripunithura Hill Palace.jpg Image:Hill Palace Ernakulam Deer Sanctuary.jpg Image:Hill Palace Museum Tripunithura DSC 1234.JPG Image:Hill Palace Museum Tripunithura DSC 1232.JPG Image:Hill Palace Museum Tripunithura DSC 1243 03.jpg Image:Hill Palace Museum Tripunithura DSC 1432.jpg Image:Hill Palace Museum Tripunithura DSC 1497.jpg

References

External links