Singha Durbar ( ne, सिंहदरवार, lit=Lion's Palace) is a palace in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, the capital of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. The palace complex lies in the centre of Kathmandu, to the north of the

Babar Mahal Babar Mahal, Baber Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located north of the Bagmati river, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. Initially the palace was ...

and

Thapathali Durbar Thapathali Durbar ( ne, थापाथली दरवार) was a palace complex in Kathmandu, the capital of the Nepal. Thapathali means abode of the Thapas. It was initially built by Nain Singh Thapa of the Thapa dynasty but was later occupi ...

and east of Bhadrakali Temple. This palace was built by Chandra Shumsher JBR in June 1908. The palace used to be one of the most exquisite and lavish of palaces in the world until the 1950s. Today it houses buildings of the Nepali Government, including the Pratinidhi Sabha, the Rastriya Sabha and several ministries.

History

Singha Durbar was built by Chandra Shumsher JBR immediately after accession to the post of Prime Minister. It was initially a small private residence but grew bigger during the construction. Immediately after construction, Chandra Shumsher JBR sold this property to the Government of Nepal for 20 million Nepali rupees as the official residence of Prime minister. After his death in 1929, it was used as the official residence of prime ministers of Rana dynasty except Padma Shumsher JBR, who lived in his own Bishalnagar Durbar. The last Rana Prime minister to occupy Singha Durbar was Mohan Shumsher JBR. Even after the fall of Rana Dynasty in 1951, Mohan used this place, but in 1953 he was ordered by His Majesty's Government to leave the palace which became National Property.

Under Government of Nepal

After the end of the hereditary Prime Minister system ( Ranas), the Government of Nepal used this palace compound to house government offices. The palace compound is occupied by both chambers of the Parliament of Nepal (the Pratinidhi Sabha, or

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and the Rashtriya Sabha, or House of the States). It holds 20 ministries and government offices. Singh Durbar is also the headquarters of

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave ( AM) and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts ...

and

Nepal Television Nepal Television ( ne, नेपाल टेलिभिजन), shortened to NTV is the Nepalese national public state-controlled television broadcaster. It is the oldest and most watched television channel in Nepal. The news broadcast at 8:0 ...

Design

Exterior structure

The structure was designed by Kumar Narsingh Rana, Kishor Narsingh Rana. The architecture of the palace is a unique example of merging building traditions, including

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

, Neoclassical mansions along with

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

Interior space

Before the fire of 1973, Singha Durbar had 7 courtyards and 1700 rooms with marbled floor, painted ceilings, silver furniture and expanses of crystal lighting.http://www.thetaranights.com/singha-durbar/

State Hall

The State Hall is the largest and the most decorated room in this palace. This hall is adorned with foreign imported art pieces like Murano glass crystal chandeliers, Belgian mirrors along with English stained glass doors and Italian marble floors with floral patterns in walls and ceilings.

Gallery Baithak

Juddha Shumsher built Gallery Baithak to meet foreign dignitaries. During that time, ambassadors from friendly countries used to present their credence at the Hanuman Dhoka. Later the Gallery Baithak was used as the parliament building.

Disasters

Fire of 1973

On Monday, 9 July 1973, a huge fire broke out in Singha Durbar engulfing all three wings of the palace except the front facing wing . To prevent the front wing from catching fire, cannon destroyed three wings facing North, South and West. After the fire was put out, the whole area was rebuilt on the old foundation.

Earthquake of 2015

Singha Durbar was seriously damaged during the

April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme ...

References

{{Commons category, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu Rana palaces of Nepal Palaces in Kathmandu Official residences in Nepal Prime ministerial residences Tourist attractions in Kathmandu 1908 establishments in Nepal