Umaid Bhawan Palace
The Umaid Bhavan Palace is a palace located just east of Jodhpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Prehistory
From 1911 to 1947, the Maharaja Umaid Singh Svasti Shri Rajadhiraja Sahib Bahadur reigned II ( born March 7, 1876 † 1947) as thirty-sixth rung of his dynasty the princely state of Marwar - Jodhpur. This was mentioned in 1300 for the first time in a document. It extended in northwest India over an area of 93 240 square kilometers.
Supposedly the advice of his court astrologers following - - As a drought the region struck near Jodhpur in the mid-1920s, the Maharaja decided to build a palace to give the starving population work. For this, he consulted the English architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester, who also designed several buildings for the former British King Edward VII.
Construction and Architecture
The foundation stone of the plant was laid on 18 November 1929 in the peri-urban Chittar Hills by the Maharaja. For this reason, a common colloquial name for the building is still Chittar Palace. On the construction of the palace of sandstone nearly 3,000 workers were employed about 14 years. It is remarkable that neither mortar nor cement was used as a binding agent for the stones, but these held together by a sophisticated addition system. The construction costs amounted to approximately 12,100,000 Indian rupees, which funded the prince from his private fortune.
Architecturally, the building is a mixture of Eastern and Western architectural styles. While the 56 -foot dome, reminiscent of the Renaissance, the smaller towers were designed in the tradition of the Rajputs., The majority of the building is, however, just like the interior in the 347 rooms, kept Deco in the true way. The palace has a length of 195 meters, a width of 103 meters and covers an area of 14,000 square meters. The gardens extend over 61,000 square meters.
Political Situation after the completion of the palace
Died four years after the completion of the installation of the Maharaja and as a result his son Hanwant Singh was determined to succeed. A few weeks later dismissed the UK India to independence. With the founding of the Federal Republic of the princely states lost their autonomy. Marwar Jodhpur went on in the new state of Rajasthan along with 22 other principalities. The Maharajas were allowed to keep their titles of nobility while, but had no political voice more.
Hanwant Singh came in 1952 in a plane crash. His first four -year old son Gaj Singh II ( born January 13, 1948) was a new head of the House Rathore.
Current situation
Since the Umaid Bhavan Palace was a long time in a poor state of repair, the Maharaja Gaj Singh II but lacked the money for a major renovation, he decided at the beginning of the 1970s to divide the building into three sections. This action was carried out in 1972.
The first section now houses a 5 -star hotel with 94 rooms, the second has been converted into a museum. Tourists can visit here old paintings, weapons, clocks, vases and other ancient objects as well as a theater, an underground hospital, the main hall, the ballroom, the swimming pool and the park. The last part is still the noble family as a residential area.
The hotel is the most expensive in Jodhpur and the palace will be the largest building in the world, which is in private hands. At night, the plant is illuminated.