Bangalore Palace- A treat to the sore eye!

The ever so majestic Bangalore Palace- A treat to the sore eye!

Ever so often we find that in our eagerness to visit new places we tend to forget places that are almost in our neighborhood. One such place that many people living in Bangalore will come across is the Bangalore Palace. 

The famous Mysore Palace which people from Bangalore frequent so often has taken away most of this palace’s sheen. Though it isn’t in anyway comparable to the palace in Mysore, there are a few nuances that might manage to get your attention. For anyone wanting to spend a good evening in Bangalore this palace can provide more than what you expect from it.

The Bangalore Palace is aptly placed according to its name in the center of the city. The Tudor style architectural manner and resemblance to the Windsor Castle in England has managed to attract a lot of history lovers here. Built in the year 1887, the place belongs to the Woodeyar dynasty and is currently owned by Srikantha Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar from Mysore. The verdant gardens surrounding the castle seem to be a very nice place for some leisure. The fact that it is placed in between the urban environment of the city gives it a stunning contrast from the other buildings.

The beauty of the castle begins right from its door which is marvelously carved. As you enter the castle you will notice a wide variety of woodwork of the 19^th century which is sure to take the breath out of anyone. The castle is extremely well furnished and the extensive paintings and carvings found in its walls is indeed a treat to the eye. The interior of the palace is filled with intricate artwork, ceiling paintings, floral décor etc. 

The courtyard is the first thing you will come across upon entering the palace followed by a Ballroom. The rooms of notice in the first floor were the Durbar Hall where the King mostly held private parties. Plus there are other antiques present here including an elephant head and art displays that have been wonderfully placed to add to the beauty of the room and the palace.

The palace is widely used today for events like concerts, programs and other exhibitions and they are open to the public. Certain preferred groups are allowed to hold private parties within the palace and the place is also rented to movie groups as it proves to be a great location to shoot films and advertisements.

To get to Bangalore Palace one can simply board a bus heading towards Carmel College from Kempegowda bus station. From Carmel College the place is just a few walks away. 

Upon reaching the place the entry to the palace is Rs.100 followed by a recommended audio guide which costs around 175 bucks. If you want to make use of cameras then you will have to pay Rs.500 extra and around 1000 bucks if it is a video camera. The rates are completely revised for the foreigners and seem a bit on the higher side. The entrance fee is around 300 and other rates are comparatively higher for non-Indians which is a let down if you are a tourist. 

Bangalore High Court- an architecural legacy

The Karnataka High Court which is located in the building called Attara Kacheri is a very famous tourist attraction of the city Bangalore. 

Located at the entrance of Cubbon Park this red bricked building houses the high court and several other lower courts. The building is two storied and is just opposite to Vidhan Soudha which is the Karnataka Secretariat building and another tourist destination.

The history of the building dates back to the Tipu Sultan reign. Believed to have been built in the late 1860s the Tipu Sultan reign appointed this building as the highest court of appeal back then. Named the High Court of Mysore back then the court received its present name in the year 1973.

The High Court as previously mentioned is located in a building called Attara Kacheri which means eighteen offices. This two storied building was built in the year 1868 under the supervision of Arcot Narayanaswami Mudaliar and was provided as a replacement for the eighteen departments of the general and revenue secretariat of the Tipu Sultan reign. These departments were asked to move into this building as their temporary residence which was Tipu Sultan’s summer palace was way too crowded and uncomfortable to perform the necessary work. When Cubbon was replaced as the Commissioner by Mr. Bowring he considered the building unsuitable for work and paved way for the construction of a new secretariat. The building was proposed to be demolished in the early 1980s but a public litigation against such a proposal made sure that no demolition took place.

The Attara Kacheri is a majestic building constructed in the Graeco-Roman style of architecture. Tourists are allowed to visit the place all year round and enjoy the Gothic architecture of the building. The red paint of the building compliments the beauty of Vidhan Soudha located opposite to it extremely well and this is one reason why it has been considered a great tourist attraction in Bangalore. The expansive premises has various Corinthian columns constructed in Gothic style architecture is an amazement to several architects who consider this place one of the most esteemed architectural marvel in the country. 

The building is located adjacent to the Venkatappa Art Gallery which is known for its display of famous paintings, artifacts and statues of Venkatappa himself who was considered a great artist back in his time. 

The other tourist attractions around this building are the Vishweshwariah Science & Technology Museum, Cubbon Park and Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall.  

Reaching this place is pretty easy and is easily accessible by using public transport such as buses and Autorickshaw. Tourists new to Bangalore can simply board the suitable bus from the Kempegowda bus station and reach the place in about ten minutes. Accommodation facilities are pretty easy to find here as there are a lot of famous hotels located in and around the locality. Some good places to stay include Fortune Park JP Celestial, Brunton Aster, The Infantry Hotel, Leela Palace Kempinski etc. These hotels are pretty affordable and luxurious.