Murshidabad, the former Capital of Bengal, is a huge and magnificent store room of historical places. And the main significants are situated at Hazarduari Palace (the house with a thousand door) courtyard, Hazarduari and with the other places arround it there built up a tourist spot. All the places belongs to the Nawab Reign. Each and every places here has an individually incandescent. Among the beautiful historical places Hazarduari is the latest eddition. The deftfull architecture of Nawab Reign still shining all over the Murshidabad.
HAZARDUARI;
This the most conspicuous building in Murshidabad. It was built during the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah (1824 – 1838 AD), descendent of Mir Zafar, by famous architect McLeod Duncan following Greek (Doric) style. The name of the palace owes to more than thousand real and false doors, 114 rooms and 8 galleries. The foundation stone was laid in 9th August 1829 and was completed in 1837.
The palace itself is called 'Bara kothi' and the enclosure within which it is situated is known as 'Nizamat Kila' .The main palace is 424 ft. long and 200 ft broad. there are huge flight of stairs in front, in the colossal and also in the facet of the building. 37 step of stone and the low most one of which is 108 ft. long lead up to the upper portico. On either side at the foot of the grand staircase there are two masonary lion in sitting posture. the palace was used for holding the meeting and other official works of the Nawabs and also for the residents of the high ranking British Officials.
It is now a museum and has an exquisite colection of armoury, splendid paintings,exhaustive portraits of Nawabs, many other valuables which used by Siraj ud Duola and other Nawabs.
MADINA ; Between the Palace and 'Imambara' there is a small mosque which is called ''Madiana'', the only surviving stracture built by Siraj Ud Doula. The mosque is the ornamented replica of Hazarat Muhammad's tomb at Madian.
Imambara and Clock tower; In front of Hazarduari Palace and parallel of it there stands the Nizamat Imambara buit in 1847 AD after the Imambara built by Siraj ud Doula which was destroyed by fire. It was built by Nawab Nizam Mansoor Ali Khan ( Feradun Jah) son of Humayun Jah at the cost more than 6 lakhs between only eleven months. This is the largest Imambara in West Bengal. Between the Imambara and the Palace there stands a beautiful ''Ghari Ghar'' (clock tower). the clock is towards the Bhagirathi.
EKKA GADI;
This beautiful and famous ''ekka'' is still shown here with a large quantity. It is the most popular and main carriage for side seeing. They take Rs 40 -80 each for whole side seeing of Hazarduari courtyard.( Wasef Manzil, Ktra Mosque, Jahankosa Canon, Jafarganj Cemetery, Khosh Bagh, Kathgola Bagan)Riding of ekka is a wonderful experiance and it will give you a feeling of 3 hundred years ego almost the Nawab reign.
Kath Gola Bagan ;
It is situated half km north of Nasipur palace, and approx 3km from Hazarduari Palace. It is one of the most beautiful tourist destination of Murshidabad. Actually it was the place garden of Raja Dhanpat Singh Dugar and Lakhmipat Singh Dugar, who came here to do bussiness. This ruins and remnants is also known as the old banking house of the Jagat Seths'. At Kathgola containing rare curios, whose history is connected with some of the most critical revolutions in Bengal. Originally, the Jagat Seths' came to prominence for the vast wealth he accumulated as the Nawab's banker
The Jagat Seths made their original fortune in the Jade trade- in those days green jade from Burma was highly valued by Mughal courtiers because of the belief that it would shatter or discolour if poisoned food was served on it. Emeralds were highly prized by Mughal rulers and theirs courtiers at that time.
The Palace garden is highly decorated and the decoration is seen every nook and corner in the palace compound. Starting from the main building to the smsllest things there the unique and intricately desigen is seen. In Kathgolap Bagan there are some beautiful fountains, those are intricately desigened and few ponds.In front of the main building there is a pond which was highly secure, used by the females of the house which bear the aristocracy of Dugar's family..
Statue of Lakhmipat Singh Dugar at Kathgolap Bagan there are several three other statue of Dugar brothers at the entrance gate.
Kathgola the palace garden of Raja Dhanpat Singh Dugar and Lakhmipat Singh Dugar, the ancestors of Sree Pat Singh Dugar ( founder of Jiaganj college). It is hard that Lakhmipat Singh came from Rajasthan by foot and Debendra Nath Tagore fither of Rabindra Nath Tagore gave him 21 bullock cart silver money without any interest.
They started here the bussiness of ''Kath Golap'' a kind of rose. But their actual intension was to bussiness of valuable Gems, silver and gold with the help of Jagat Seth. Gradually they did it behind the eyes of Nabawabs. This is the secret underground way, it leds to the house of Jagat Seth which is now washed away by the dissolution of Bhagirathi and that is why it is now full of water, even the water indicates the water level of Bhagirathi.
The Kathgola is an ornate, four-storey, palatial mansion fringed with picturesque gardens. The front approach to the mansion is crafted with precision. The Kathgola's interior was created with imported materials in the late 19th century. Here at Kathola Garden House William Watts and Walsh met Mir Jafar and Raja Rai Durlabh, three days after the battle of Palassey.
NASHIPUR PALACE:
It is about 2.7 km from Hazarduari Palace and Just north of Kathgola Bagan is the Nashipur Palace a miniature replica of Hazarduari Palace. It was built by Raja Kirti Chandra Singha Bahadur. The age worn Palace continues to exude a mystical beauty with its wide ranging depictions of Hindu iconography.
KATRA MASJID:
Katra Masjid is situated about a mile in the North-Eastern side of Murshidabad town and 3km from Murshidabad Rail-station. It was built by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan in 1723. The mosque was built within 1 year by the architect Murad Farash.Standing on a 54 meter high square plinth, this brick-built mosque is surrounded by a row of double storied domed cells which form a cloister to the spacious courtyard in its front. Four huge minars were built at four corners of this quadrangle. There are winding staircase inside each minar which leads to the top.
