Marble Palace

The Marble palace is a royal palace of the nineteenth century. It is in North Kolkata in the Muktaram Babu Street. It is a very common and popular place of tourist attraction. It is believed to be the most magnificent and elegant mansion of Kolkata of those times. It is popular for its floors and marble walls. It was built in the year 1835 by Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur. He was the richest amongst other landlords of West Bengal. It is very artistic and beautiful from its appearance which catches one’s eyes.

There are various paintings inside the palace of famous international artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Reynolds large collections of Reuben’s masterpieces along with sculptures, art, oil paintings and pictures. There was also a zoo where there were different animals and rare birds in the Marble palace.

There is a very famous Marble palace Zoo near the palace which is first zoo in India which was also opened by Raja Rajendra Mullick. It has several species of birds and animals including hornbills, Peacocks, cranes, storks and pelicans along with monkeys and variety of deer. It is a very good place to visit in Kolkata. There was also a very antique clock collection which was 82 in number and a fountain in the center of the lawn.

History

The Marble palace was constructed in the year 1835 by a wealthy merchant, Raja Rajendra Mullick due to his passion for art. The house is a residential place for his successors and at present Raja Rajendra Mullick Bahadur’s family has occupied the house. Nilmoni Mullick adopted Raja Rajendra Mullick. Jagannath temple was constructed by him.

Architecture

The Marble palace is built in the neoclassical style except that the idea of open courtyards seems traditional like those of Bengalis. There is a thakr-dalan to the courtyards adjacent which is a place of worship of various Gods for the family members. The building has three stories with tall pillars of Corinthia and verandas which were ornamented with fretwork along with sloping roofs. It depicted Chinese style pavilion. There was also a garden and a lake near the palace.

The Marble palace shows the forms of art of Netherlands, Italy, European nations and England. The entire palace is made of marble including floors, tabletops and walls. There is a big lawn which has the statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Christopher Columbus, the Buddha, and the Hindu Gods. There is a big pool near the palace as which has ostriches, peacocks and ducks.

Visitors Information

The Marble palace is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and rest of the days it remains closed. The palace is open from 10:00 AM morning till 12:00 PM in the evening. As the Marble palace is a residential place so it is not permissible to take photographs and is restricted. There is no entrance fee to visit the palace but the permission of the West Bengal Tourism Information Bureau at Bag, Kolkata is required 24 hours prior of the visit and only 1 hour duration is allowed to be inside the Palace.

How to Reach

It is very easy to reach Kolkata as it is very famous place and several tourists visit the city throughout the year. Marble palace is situated in Kolkata so it becomes easier for the visitors to reach the palace by any means of transport which can be done in the following way.

By Air

The nearest airport is the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport which is in Dumdum at 17 km distance from Kolkata. The airport is an international airport which is connected to various cities in India and abroad. A taxi car could be hired from the airport to reach the place.

By Rail

The two main railway stations are Sealdah and Howrah in Kolkata which are linked with all the main cities of India. There is a facility of Metro rail system as well which makes the journey comfortable.

By Road

There are state as well as private buses available in Kolkata which are not very expensive and there is also the availability of AC and deluxe buses from Kolkata for various other cities at reasonable prices. Other than this, cabs, rickshaws are also available.

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