India's Magnificent Royal Palaces

foreign for much of its history India has been ruled by various Royal dynasties who have left behind a rich architectural Legacy including some of the largest and most spectacular palaces to be found anywhere in the world even as the region came under British rule in the 18th and 19th centuries many of India's monarchs managed to retain their vast wealth their nominal sovereignty and a degree of control of the internal affairs of their territories when India gained independence in 1947 these territories known as the princely states numbered in the hundreds and made up 40 percent of the country's area and some 23 percent of its population in the following decades they were gradually dissolved with royal families losing their status as rulers in the 1971. but their magnificent residences built up over the course of centuries still remain in this video we'll discover four of them built in different styles and time periods [Music] located in Rajasthan in Northwestern India the kingdom of Noir had grown into the most powerful state in the region by the early 1500s but the arrival of the mughals put it on the defensive in 1559 the growing threat of invasion prompted its ruler Maharana udai Singh II the found a new capital in a more secure location Legend has said that while hunting one day in the hills around Lake petola he happened to meet A hermits whom blessed the king and advised him to build a palace on the spot assuring him that it would be well protected trusting the Hermits he had the Palace built and rounded through the new capital named odaipur after the king the udaipur city Palace was gradually extended by successors over a period of 400 years growing into vast complex containing four major and several minor palaces built in a fusion of Mughal and rajput architecture its many parts are unified by the consistent use of marble and granite as building materials entry to the complex is provided by beautiful ornamental gateways like the tripolia gates reached from the north inside the palace is a maze of Courtyards some large and once used for public Gatherings and elephant fights as well as smaller intricately decorated ones for the maharanas personal use its many balconies as well as towers and components provide excellent views of the city and of lake petrola on the islands of which the maharanas built a number of adjacent palaces and Pavilions these include the Jag mandir Palace once home to the prince who went on to become Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and the lake Palace which is built entirely of white marble and almost appears to be floating on the water there is also the monsoon Palace overlooking the lake and City from a 340 meters above and built in the 19th century to serve the dual purpose of a royal Retreat and an astronomical Observatory to keep track of the movement of monsoon clouds [Music] completed in 1890 the enormous Lakshmi Vilas Palace was built as the Royal residence of the maharajas of Baroda in what is now in the state of Gujarat designed by Major Charles manth the building mixes elements of traditional Mughal Hindu as well as Gothic architecture and that four times the size of Buckingham Palace it was reputed to have been the largest private residence in the world at the time the building features an extravagantly decorated facade and contains the Darbar Hall with its crystal chandeliers golden ornament and Italian Mosaic floor it was the height of luxury not just in terms of the core but also in its modern amenities being outfitted with electricity elevators and telephones the ground surrounding the building were laid out by William Goldring a specialist from Kew Gardens and included both the zoo and a Miniature Railway line used by the Maharaja to take his children to and from school unfortunately the architect of the palace met a tragic end before the building was finished it sounded that he took his own life halfway through the project when he realized that he had made a fatal mistake in his calculations and that the palace could come crumbling down at any moment now 130 years later it's still standing and is home to the royal family of Baroda [Music] Palace was constructed between 1884 and 1893 and the capital of Hyderabad the wealthiest and second largest Prince estate in British India but it wasn't originally made for its ruler the nizam Instead The Palace was the project of cervikar al-amrah the state's prime minister an avid traveler he decided to build the palladian style residence after visit to Europe and named it falaknuma meaning mirror of the sky in Urdu the English architect William Ward Merritt was brought in to design it while sir vikara moved in early to supervise parts of its construction completed the palace covers an area of over 90 000 square meters containing 60 rooms and 22 Halls among them are the state reception room decorated with the frescoes a dining hall able to seat 101 guests on the library with a faithful replica of a carved walnut roof found in Windsor Castle knuma Palace wasn't home to the car al-amrah for long in the spring of 1897 the sixth Nissan of Hyderabad Mir makbub Ali Khan was invited to stay here he enjoyed the palace so much they decided to extend this day to a week then a fortnight and then a month finally survey car simply offered the palace to the Nissan who accepted paying him a fraction of the cost to the taken to build from then on the building served as a state guest house with a list of visitors including George V and Sarah Nicholas II [Music] after falling into this use in the mid-20th century it was painstakingly restored over the spam of 10 years and reopened a luxury hotel in 2010. [Music] towering above the blue city of jodhpur umaid bhawan Palace was the last of India's great Royal residences completed just a few years before independence in 1943 commissioned by and named after the Maharaja of jodhpur umayid Singh the palace had begun to be built 15 years earlier and was conceived as a response to economic hardship having faced severe drought and famine for three consecutive years in the 1920s local farmers sought help from the Maharaja to provide them with employment his solution to build one of the largest palaces in the world to serve the intended purpose construction was carried out at a slow pace and employed between two to three thousand workers the building was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob and Barris a striking resemblance to the great government buildings of New Delhi like them it's a combination of traditional Indian and British classical architecture but also has a strong influence of Art Deco giving it its historic lines the Maharaja and this architect are also said to have been inspired by the temples of Burma and by Angkor Wat built of sandstone the palace is centered around an enormous dome flanked by smaller Towers it contains several Courtyards Gardens with beautiful views of the surrounding landscape and as many as 347 rooms although parts of the palace have now been converted into Museum and the luxury hotel it still serves as the principal residence of the jodhpur Royal Family [Music]

Channel: Kings and Things

Views: 234,181

Keywords: Indian History, Mughal Empire, Rajput, Baroda, Hyderabad, Nizam, Maharaja, Maharana, Kingdom of Mewar, British Raj, British Empire, Princely States, Victorian Era, 19th Century, Indian Independence, Palaces, Castles, Royalty, Indian Royalty, Royal Family, Versailles, Buckingham Palace, Indian Architecture, Classical Architecture

Id: LJ5Yui8FbsU

Length: 8min 22sec (502 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 15 2022