The Raj Bhavan of

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

in the Indian state of Odisha, is an official residence and summer resort of the

Governor of Odisha The Governor of Odisha is the head of the Indian state of Odisha. The Governor (India), governors have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at central level. They exist in the States of India, state ...

. it was originally built as a summer residence for the erstwhile lieutenant-governor of the Province of Bihar and Odisha under the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Location

The building is located adjacent to the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

in Puri, about from

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

, the former capital of Odisha and from the current capital,

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

History

Constructed in 1913–14, the original grounds covered an area of . The residence was subsequently used by British governors to escape the summer heat in

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, which was then the capital of Bihar and Odisha. After Odisha became a separate province in 1936, the building became the residence of the state Governor of Odisha. However, because of the distance from the capital the residence shifted there in 1942. While the new residence in Cuttack was under construction, the Raj Bhavan at Puri underwent remodelling at a cost of Rs. 158,000 to "make it suitable and comfortable for the imperial dignity of His Majesty's representatives in India" with improvements including rewiring, updating of the plumbing system and the creation of a garden. The building remained in use as the summer residence for governors until 1973, then in 1983 part of the grounds were sold off for the construction of a hotel to boost state tourism.

References

External links

Governors' houses in India Government of Odisha Puri 1914 establishments in British India Buildings and structures in Odisha Houses completed in 1914 20th-century architecture in India {{Puri-geo-stub