City Palace Udaipur: History of Architecture

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
CITY PALACE
UDAIPUR
GROUP -4 : YAKSHALI TEJANI
AASTHA KHURANA
DIVYA SOJITRA
SHIVANI KUMARI
JINAL KACCHADIA
ARCHITECTURE
 The palace complex has been
built entirely in granite and
marble.
 The interiors of the palace
complex with its balconies,
towers and cupolas exhibit
delicate mirror-work, marble-
work, murals, wall paintings,
silver-work, inlay-work and
leftover of colored glass. The
complex provides a view of
the lake and the Udaipur city
from its upper terraces.
STRUCTURE WITHIN ITS COMPLEX
 GATEWAYS
 AMAR VILAS
 BADI MAHAL
 BHIM VILAS
 CHINI CHITRASHALA
 CHOTI CHITRASHALA
 DILKHUSHA MAHAL
 DURBAR HALL
 FATEPRAKASH PALACE
 KRISHNA VILAS AND LAXMI VILAS CHOWK
 MANAK MAHAL
 MOR CHOWK
 RANG BHAVAN
 SHEESS MAHAL
 MUSEUM
GATEWAYS
 Gateways, colloquially called Pols, are set to the east of
Udaipur city. A number of such gateways provide access
to the palace complex.
 The main entry from the city is through the 'Badi Pol'
(Great Gate), which leads to the first courtyard. Badi Pol
(built in 1600) leads to the ‘Tripolia Pol', a triple-arched BADI POL
gate built in 1725, which provides the northern entry. The
road between this gate and the palace is lined with shops
and kiosks owned by craftsmen, book-binders, miniature
painters and textile dealers. Between these two gates,
eight marble arches or Toranas are erected. It is said that
the Maharanas used to be weighed here with gold and
silver, which was then distributed among the local people.
Following the Tripolia gate is an arena in front of the
Toran Pol and the facade palace, the Manak Chowk,
where elephant fights were staged in the past to test their
prowess before starting on war campaigns. TRIPOLIA POL
 The main block of the city palace is approached
through a modest door from the Ganesha Deodhi
terrace. The door is flanked by whitewashed walls
vibrantly painted with martial animals in the
traditional Rajput style. There is a big boulders in
the entry where elephants were tied. This elephant GANESHA DEODHI GATE
parking have now became car parking.
 Behind the entrance of Badi Pol there is a huge wall
which was for the elephant fight. The elephant
which touches the wall first would be considered
weak elephant. Both elephants would pull each
other in this fight.
AMAR VILAS
 Amar Vilas is the uppermost court
inside the complex, which is an
elevated garden. It provides entry to
the Badi Mahal. It was built in Mughal
style as a pleasure pavilion. It has
cusped arcades enclosing a square
marble tub. Amar Vilas is the highest
point of the City Palace and has
wonderful hanging gardens with
fountains, towers, and terraces.
BADI MAHAL
 Badi Mahal (Great Palace) also known as Garden Palace is
the central palace situated on a 27 metres (89 ft) high
natural rock formation bis-a-bis the rest of the palace.
 The rooms on the ground floor appear to be at the level of
the fourth floor in view of the height difference to its
surrounding buildings. There is a swimming pool here,
which was then used for Holi festival (festival of colors)
celebration. In an adjoining hall, miniature paintings of
18th and 19th centuries are displayed. In addition, wall
paintings of Jag Mandir (as it appeared in the 18th
century), Vishnu of Jagdish temple, the very courtyard and
an elephant fight scene are depicted.
CHINI CHITRASHALA
 Chini Chitrashala (Chinese art place) depicts Chinese and Dutch ornamental tiles.

DURBAR HALL
 Durbar Hall was built in 1909 within the
Fatehpraksh Palace as a venue for official
functions such as State banquets and
meetings. The gallery of the hall was used
by the Royal ladies to observe the Durbar
proceedings. This hall has a luxuriant
interior with large chandeliers. Weapons of
the maharanas and some of their portraits
are depicted here. The foundation stone for
this hall was laid by Lord Minto, the
Viceroy of India, in 1909, during the rule
of Maharana Fateh Singh and was then
called Minto Hall.
FATEPRAKASH PALACE
 Fateprakash Palace, which is now a
luxury hotel, has a crystal gallery that
consists of crystal chairs, dressing tables,
sofas, tables, chairs and beds, crockery,
table fountains which were never used.
There is also a jewel studded carpet here.
Maharana Sajjan Singh had ordered these
rare items in 1877 from F& C Osler & Co
of London but he died before they arrived
here. It is said that the packages
containing these crystals remained
unopened for 110 years.
KRISHNA VILAS AND LAXMI VILAS
CHOWK
 Krishna Vilas is another chamber, which  Laxmi Vilas Chowk is an art gallery with
has a rich collection of miniature a distinctive collection of Mewar
paintings that portray royal processions, paintings.
festivals and games of the Maharanas.
MANAK MAHAL
 The Manak Mahal approached from the Manak Chowk is an
enclosure for formal audience for the Mewar rulers. It has a
raised alcove inlaid completely in mirror glass. Sun-face
emblems, in gleaming brass, religious insignia of the Sisodia
dynasty are a recurring display at several locations in the
City Palace with one being depicted on the façade of the
Manak Chowk. The largest of such an emblem is also seen
on the wall of the Surya Chopar, a reception centre at the
lower level. Surya or Sun emblem of the Mewar dynasty
depicts a Bhil, the Sun, Chittor Fort and a Rajput with an
inscription in Sanskrit of a quotation from the Bhagavad Gita
(Hindu holy scripture), which means "God Helps those who
do their duty". It was customary for the Maharanas to offer
obeisance to the Sun facing east, every morning before
taking breakfast.
MOR CHOWK
 Mor Chowk or Peacock square is integral to
the inner courts of the palace. The elaborate
design of this chamber consists of three
peacocks (representing the three seasons of
summer, winter, and monsoon) modeled in
high relief and faced with coloured glass
mosaic, built into successive niches in the wall
area or jharoka, These were built during
Maharana Sajjan Singh’s reign, 200 years after
the palace was established. The peacocks have
been crafted with 5000 pieces of glass, which
shine in green, gold, and blue colours.
 The apartments in front of the Chowk are
depicted with scenes of Hindu god
Lord Krishna’s legends. At the upper level,
there is a projecting balcony, which is flanked
by inserts of coloured glass. In an adjoining
chamber, called the Kanch-ki-Burj, mosaics
of mirrors adorn the walls. The Badi Charur
Chowk within this chowk is a smaller court
for private use. Its screen wall has painted and
inlaid compositions depicting European men
and Indian women. Proceeding further from
the Mor-Chowk, in the Zenana Mahal or
women’s quarters exquisitely designed
alcoves, balconies, colored windows, tiled
walls, and floors are seen.
SHEESS MAHAL
 Sheess Mahal or Palace of Mirrors and glasses was built in 1716 by Maharana
Pratap for his wife Maharani Ajabde.
MUSEUM
 In 1974, a part of the city

palace and the 'Zenana
Mahal' (Ladies Chamber)
were converted into a
museum. The museum is
open for public.

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HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

 Chini Chitrashala (Chinese art place) depicts Chinese and Dutch ornamental tiles.

 In 1974, a part of the city

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