The Peterhoff is a building in Chaura Maidan,

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

which housed at least seven Viceroys and Governors General of India during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

. It was built in Tudor style, with wooden frames and shingled eaves. The building is situated in Annadale in the ward of Shimla. Its first occupant was

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, (20 July 181120 November 1863) was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–18 ...

, who moved into the building in 1863. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

, the building served as the

Punjab High Court Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Per ...

. It was at Peterhoff that

the trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and p ...

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in ...

, who assassinated

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

, took place in 1948–49. In 1971, when

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peak ...

became a full-fledged state, Peterhoff served as the

Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also *Raj Niwas *Rashtrapati Bhavan * Rashtrapati Nilayam *Rashtrapati Niwas The Rashtrapati Niwas ...

(the Governor's residence).Peterhoff (Old Raj Bhavan At Chauramaidan)
Governor House, Himachal Pradesh The building was destroyed in a fire on the night of 12 January 1981. Subsequently, the Raj Bhavan was shifted to the Barnes' Court building. The Peterhof was rebuilt to a new design as a luxury hotel in 1991. It has 34 suites. Seventeen rooms of the hotel are owned by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and the rest are reserved for the governor, chief minister, state guests and general administration department.

References

Official residences in India Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth Buildings and structures in Shimla {{India-struct-stub