Umaid Bhawan Palace is located in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. It is one of the largest private palaces in the world. It is a part of the Taj Hotel. It was named by the grandson of Maharaja Umaid Singh, who is the current owner of this palace.
At present, this palace has three hundred forty-seven rooms. Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to this Umaid Bhawan Palace being Chittar Hill.
History Of Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur
Umaid Bhawan Palace is a perfect example of an Indo-colonial architectural style and deco-art. Deco art is a style dating back to the 1920s and 1930s.
The history of the construction of this world-famous palace is linked to the curse of a saint, who in anger gave a curse to famine and epidemic to the Rathore dynasty here, after which Jodhpur faced famine for three consecutive years in the 1920s.
Due to the famine, the local people urged the then King Umaid Singh to provide employment after which the king decided to build a grand palace for which he called and assigned the famous architect Henry von Lanchester to plan it.
After which the construction of this palace started in the year 1928 and it started to be built very slowly because it gave the local people an opportunity to deal with the famine, After the famine ended in the year 1943, this palace also It was also ready. So it took more than 16 years to build this palace.
Local people were used to building this palace, which numbered about 2,000 to 3,000.
Umaid Bhawan Palace is one of the largest and most expensive palaces in India, built on an area of about 26 acres of land with 15 acres of gardens. It includes a throne room, private meeting hall, court hall, banquet hall, private dining hall, ballroom, library, indoor swimming pool, etc. The cost of its construction was about 11 million rupees, which was a huge cost at that time.
The view of this palace made of marble and sandstone attracts tourists especially. Watches and paintings of the ancient era are preserved even today in the museum of this palace. The memorial has 347 rooms, several courtyards, and a large banquet hall that can easily seat 300 people.
This palace was used for the use of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. This is one such twentieth-century palace, built under the flood relief project. Due to this, the flood-affected people got employment. This opulent edifice built of sandstone is now the residence of former rulers, one part of which runs a hotel, and the other part houses a museum.
The palace was built by carving sandstone. During the construction of the palace, spices were not used to bind stones. This uniqueness attracts a large number of tourists to this palace. The architect of this beautiful palace was Henry Vaughan, an Englishman.
The palace is mainly divided into three functional parts, the first being the residence of the royal family, the second Taj Palace Hotel, and the third museum, which are used to display the objects of the rulers of the 20th century.
The inner dome of this palace is light blue in color with a diameter of about 31 meters, which is covered by an outer dome whose height is about 13 meters.
In 1971, Gaj Singh II decided to convert a part of the palace into a hotel.
This palace is run by the “Taj Group of Hotels”, due to which it is also known as “Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur”.
A palace is also present in this palace, which contains the items of the rulers as well as some valuable things, including the symbolic flag, windmill, and lighthouse given by Queen Victoria to Queen Jaswant Singh in the year 1877 AD. Size includes the collection of clocks etc.
Presently the owner of Umaid Bhawan Palace is Maharaja Gaj Singh.
Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum Enter fees & timing
The opening time of the museum is from 9 am to 5 pm. There is also a gallery where many things are seen.
The museum ticket is Rs. 30 for Indians and Rs. 100 for foreigners.
How to reach Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur Rajasthan
Nearest Railway Station Jodhpur
Nearest Airport Jodhpur Airport
My self Dev Satish. I’m an Author and Founder of tourism-rajasthan.com. I’m from Rajasthan and If I talk about my Education then I’m Law Graduate. I love doing work that makes me happy, that’s why I love traveling. you will find Rajasthan travel ideas & tips on this blog.