Name:- Harsadan Deep Singh

Roll no:- 1804

Topic:- Amar Mahal Palace
 Amar Mahal Palace

▪ The Amar Mahal Palace is a palace in Jammu, in the Indian

state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, which has now been converted
into a Museum. It was built in the nineteenth century for Raja Amar
Singh, a Dogra king by a French architect on the lines of a
French Chateau. The palace was donated to the Hari-Tara charitable
trust by Dr. Karan Singh for use as a museum. It has many exhibits
including a golden throne weighing 120 kg, Pahari
miniature and Kangra miniature paintings, a library of 25,000 antique
books and many rare art collections.
▪ The palace was the last official residence of the Dogra dynasty, and a
large collection of portraits of the royal family are also on display in
the Museum.
History

▪ The Amar Mahal Palace was planned by a French architect,

in 1862. However, it was not built until the 1890s. Maharani
Tara Devi, wife of the late Maharaja Hari Singh (son of Raja
Amar Singh) lived in this palace till her death in 1967.
Subsequently, her son Karan Singh and his wife Yasho Rajya
Lakshmi converted the palace into a museum to house rare
books and works of art, with the objective of "Encouraging
artistic talent, to establish fine arts centre and to collaborate
with other like minded institutions for promotion of Indian
arts".
 Geography

▪ Amar Mahal is situated on the right bank of the Tawi River,

in Jammu. Tawi river is also known as Suryaputri Tawi
(Suryaputri is a hindi word meaning 'The Daughter of The
Sun God').Jammu, once a princely city, is also famous for
forts, palaces and temples. The Shivalik Hills or ranges to
the north of the Mahal, on the left bank of the river, provide
a grand view, with the Tawi River flowing in between,
draining the valley. It is well located adjoining the heritage
hotel known as the Hari Niwas Palace Hotel, in the heart of
the city, on the road to Kashmir.
 Architecture

▪ The palace built in red sandstone with red bricks is in a picturesque

environment on a hillock overlooking the Tawi river valley. Built in
the European castle style, the palace has sloping roofs with turrets and tall
towers. When built during the reign of Raja Amar Singh, it was the tallest
building in Jammu. The imposing building has long passages on three sides,
which are covered by sloping corrugated tin roofs. The passages are
supported on columns with wooden framework. The first floor of the palace
building has French windows with connected balcony. The top floor has a
bay window. The windows also depict triangular projections in
classical Greek architectural style, which are fitted over ornate false
columns.
Gallery and My Experience
▪ My experience was quite delightful… it felt fresh and amazing
to visit this place after a long time… the guides were very
insightful and knew every detail of the palace. All the
paintings and photographs of the royal family were very
beautiful and pleasing to look at. The halls and corridors of the
palace were quite flabbergasting as the ceiling were decorated
with designs and chandeliers. The lush green garden with the
view of Tawi river was also a site to behold.
▪ Any one would love to come back again and again to admire
it’s beauty.