Kaiser Mahal 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 the

Narayanhity Palace The Narayanhiti Palace Museum ( Nepali: नारायणहिटी दरवार) is a public museum in Kathmandu, Nepal located east of the Kaiser Mahal and next to Thamel. The museum was created in 2008 from the complex of the former Nar ...

, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings.

History

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

. Initially the land area of Keshar mahal was occupied by a small palace of one of the sons of Commander-in-Chief Dhir Shumsher and younger brother of

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 ...

, Lt. General Jeet Shumsher J. B. Rana. Later Jeet Shumsher sold his palace to

Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field-Marshal Maharaja Sri Teen Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (8 July 1863 – 26 November 1929) was the Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty. He served in this capacity from 27 June 1901 to his death in 1929, after he successfully ...

, who then destroyed the old palace and build a new palace in 1895 for his son

Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field Marshal Sir Kaiser Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GBE (8 January 1892 – 7 June 1964) was a field marshal in the Royal Nepalese Army. He was the third son of Maharaja Sir Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO the fift ...

with pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture, and European-inspired pergolas, balustrades, urns, and statues. He erected six freestanding pavilions, each dedicated to one of the six seasons of

. These unique and impressive Edwardian features earned it the name "

Garden of Dreams The Garden of Dreams ( Nepali:स्वप्न बगैंचा, Newar language : म्हगसया क्यब), also, the Garden of Six Seasons, is a neo-classical garden in Kaiser Mahal Kathmandu, Nepal, built in 1920. Designed b ...

Under Government of Nepal

After the fall of the Rana regime, Kaiser Mahal was occupied and owned by

but later he sold it to government of Nepal. Currently this palace is occupied by the

Kaiser library The Kaiser Library is a government-run public library in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is located in the Keshar Mahal palace complex. The library was established in 1907 by the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana for his son, ...

, and Sampati Suddhikaran Aayog.

Earthquake 2015

This palace was partially damaged 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 ...

. Kaiser Mahal was designated safe and received a yellow sticker. Currently the Kaiser Library, and Sampati Suddhikaran Aayog has started evacuation. The future of this historical building is unknown.

References

{{coord missing, Nepal Palaces in Kathmandu Rana palaces of Nepal

History

Under Government of Nepal

Earthquake 2015

See also

References