One of the most important tourist attractions in Kota, Rajasthan is the Kota Garh City Palace. The palace stands tall at the south end of the town. This palace is meticulously decorated with beautiful wall paintings, frescos, mirror hangings, mirror ceiling and flower decorations. Surrounded by lush green gardens, this palace has a museum in it, which exhibits an astounding collection of medieval weapons, apparels and outfits of the royal members of that era. The palace was built by the prince Jait Singh in 1264.
Architecture of City Palace
The architecture of the palace reflects the Mughal style. Some of the designs that adorn the palace are directly inspired from Mughals. Though the palace is in ruins but they are picturesque to look at. Some of the intricately designed rooms are presently used for a school. The other apartments are open for the perusal of the visitors. The exterior of the palace walls are decorated with delicate stonework yet they are robust.
The main gate of the palace is the Hathi Pol or the Elephant Gate. Dating back to the 17th century, this gate has statues of elephants with their trunks raised. One of the murals at the Hathi Pol displays a royal wedding procession. As the tourists enter the palace to explore more they will come across the Durbar Hall that has mirror inlay work covering its walls and ceilings. Exquisite miniatures representing Kota`s legends cover the hall. Besides these, there is the Bhim Mahal on the first floor. It has ebony and ivory inlaid doors and some beautiful miniatures covering its walls.
Maharao Madho Singh Museum of City palace
Maharao Madho Singh Museum inside the palace houses an exclusive collection of Rajput miniature paintings of the Kota School mainly depicting scenes from the legends of Lord Krishna. Rajput weapons, some superbly inlaid with gold and ivory along with some fire arms have also been displayed for the visitors. A collection of royal family photographs depicting the princely lifestyle of the 19th century and some animal trophies are also to be found here. To put it in a nutshell this museum is a treasure house of artistic items used by the former rulers of Kota.
Visiting Information to City Palace
Jaipur Airport and Kota Junction Railway Station are the nearest to City Palace. This place can also be reached by road. Kota is well connected to all major cities of Rajasthan. Kota Bus Station is just 2km from the City Palace.
