20.1Amba Vilas (Mysore Palace)
The present Mysore Palace was built between 1897 and 1912 to designs by the British architect Henry Irwin after fire destroyed the earlier wooden palace during a royal wedding in 1897. It is a three-storey grey granite structure with deep pink marble domes, a 44-metre five-storey tower, the Kalyana Mantapa with its stained-glass peacock ceiling, and the Durbar Hall housing the golden throne.[1]
It is among the most visited monuments in India, receiving several million visitors a year, and is administered by the Mysore Palace Board.[2]
20.2The other palaces
Jaganmohan Palace (1861) served as the royal residence while Amba Vilas was rebuilt and now houses the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, including works by Raja Ravi Varma. Jayalakshmi Vilas (1905) belongs to the University of Mysore and holds a folklore museum. Lalitha Mahal (1921), built for the Viceroy's visits, is now a hotel; Rajendra Vilas crowns Chamundi Hill; Cheluvamba Mansion houses the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute; and the Karanji and Lokaranjan mahals complete the group.[3]
20.3Srirangapatna's palaces
At Srirangapatna the Daria Daulat Bagh (1784), Tipu Sultan's summer palace, survives with its celebrated murals of the battle of Pollilur, while the Gumbaz mausoleum holds the tombs of Hyder Ali, Fakhr-un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan; both are ASI-protected monuments.[4]