Rajmahal is a palace in

Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 1947 ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. Built in 1904 by

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 ...

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 used as the government office and later as the court until 2017. It has three floors and 130 rooms.

History

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, an ...

s conquered

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and established

in 1721. They expanded their rule in north Gujarat and established Patan as its administrative headquarters. Later the headquarters was moved to Kadi and subsequently to Mehsana in 1902 when the city was connected by the

Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR) or Gaikwad Baroda State Railway was a narrow gauge railway line owned by the Princely State of Baroda, which was ruled by the Gaekwar dynasty. History The railway track has the distinction of being the fir ...

which was opened in 1887. As a public relief during the famine of 1899–1900,

built the palace, Rajmahal, in 1904 (Vikram Samvat 1956) at a cost of . It was designed by the English architect

Frederick William Stevens Frederick William Stevens (11 November 1847 – 5 March 1900) was an English architectural engineer who worked for the British colonial government in India. Stevens' most notable design was the railway station Victoria Terminus in Bombay (in 199 ...

. (Collection of Volume 68, Issue 1 - Volume 69, Issue 12) Intended for his son, Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad, who died shortly afterwards in 1908, the palace was then handed over to the municipal authorities. In 1960, when Mehsana was made the district headquarters of

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of ove ...

, the palace was rented by the Government as the Collector's Office. Later it was used as the district court until 2017. The palace is unused since and the Gaekwad family is under process in the court to take over its possession. There is a proposal to convert it in a heritage hotel as well as a museum.

Architecture

The palace is spread over an area of . It has three floors and 130 rooms in total; the ground floor with 70 rooms, the first floor with 55 rooms and the second floor with five rooms. The palace is crowned by one large onion-shaped dome, eight small onion-shaped domes and eight small pyramidal domes. There is a statue of Sayajirao Gaekwad III in the open square in front of the palace.

References

{{reflist Palaces in Gujarat Royal residences in India Tourist attractions in Mehsana district Mehsana Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Houses completed in 1904 Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture Baroda State

History

Architecture

See also

References