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Idealised
from the concept of classical European style of Italian Renaissance, this
magnificent palace was built by the famous Koch king Maharaja Nripendra
Narayan in 1887. Raised on a basement of 1.5 metres in height, this double
storied brick building covers an area of 4768 square metres. It extends 120
metres from north to south and
90
metres from east to west. The frontal facade consists of a series of arches
resting by an alternate arrangement of narrow and broad piers to
contain single and double Corinthian pilasters respectively. |
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A porch is projected in the center to
provide main entrance to the building through the
Durbar Hall. Recalling the memory of St. Peter's
Church at Rome, the Durbar Hall is dodecagonal in shape,
resting on four arches supported by
massive Corinthian pilasters and projecting a lantern at the top. The intrados
of the dome is relieved in stepped patterns and flanked by a small elegant
balcony with twelve window openings at the base. In the center of the Durbar
Hall, the marble floor contains the royal insignia in pietradura. The building
contains more than fifty rooms/halls of varied dimensions which include
the
bedrooms,
dressing rooms, billiard room, kitchen, dinning hall, dancing hall, library,
toshakhana and the ladies gallery. Certain rooms
deserve special attention for their beautiful
paintings in the ceiling as well as in the interior wall
surface.
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'Koch' Rajbari at Cooch
Behar town
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