Royal Mysore

Mysore Palace is the central attraction of Mysore City. The sprawling Mysore Palace is located in the heart of Mysore city.The interior of Mysore Palace is richly carved, intricate, colorful and architecturally thrilling.It is from this palace the erstwhile rulers , the Wadeyars, ruled the Mysore Kingdom.

Though Mysore is often referred to as the "City of Palaces", the term Mysore Palace refers to the largest and the most opulent of all its surviving palaces located in the city center, called the Amba Vilas Palace.

Mysore Palace  history spans for  more than 500 years.  But what we see now in Mysore is the modern palace built in the 1900s. As mentioned earlier the first palace was built during 14th century by the then Wadeyar kings.After the fall of Vijayanagar , and the subsequent power shifts in the region, Raja Wadeyar moved the capital to Srirangapatna from Mysore in 1610. The palace in  Mysore however continued to serve as a royal residence.

During the regime of Raja Wodeyar II in 1638 the original palace got damaged by a lightning strike. It was repaired and extended later.The palace is basically a three storied structure with a 44 meter ( 145 feet ) central tower. Pinkish marble domes adorn the number of towers configured in perfect symmetry.

The first attraction is the Doll Pavilion as you enter the museum. Antiques made of gold, silver, marble , ivory from around the world are on display. Some of them as old as 900 years.The central portion of the palace is a huge court open to the sky. Beyond is the royal Marriage Hall (Kalyana Mantapa ) , the most awe-inspiring portion of the palace.

The five storied tower of the palace makes a majestic dome over this hall.The walls along the corridors are decorated with oil paintings of royal themes. A host of ceremonies and festivals of the bygone era is depicted in these painting in all its vividness and details.