''Errum Manzil'' or Iram Manzil is an expansive palace standing in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, Telangana, India. It was built around the year 1870 by

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Safdar Jung Musheer-ud-daula Fakhrul Mulk, a nobleman of

Hyderabad state Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

. It is located on top of a hillock off the Khairatabad - Panjagutta road.

History

It is likely named after Iram, a lost city mentioned in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

that was said to have lofty pillars.

, being a city with strong

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet (), also known as the Perso-Arabic script, is the right-to-left script, right-to-left alphabet used for the Persian language. It is a variation of the Arabic script with four additional letters: (the sounds 'g', 'zh', ' ...

affinities, was home to many grand palaces and monuments that were often named after Quranic and legendary places. Some have attempted to derive etymologies from local languages, but these are likely unfounded. Errum Manzil was used for royal banquets and other grand events. Later, the palace was taken over by the Government to be used as a records store-house. After some years it was again transferred into the hands of Public Works Department. Presently the land on which the palace is located houses offices of the Engineers-in-chief and the Chief Engineers of the Roads and Buildings and Irrigation/Command Area Development Departments. Irrum Manzil Close-Up Left

The Government of Telangana previously announced that the structure would be razed because of its dilapidated state. There has been a coordinated effort by locals to preserve this historic structure. This structure falls under the B2 category on the list Archaeological Survey of India. Recently, a High Court order made it illegal to demolish the structure.

Architecture

Built in the Indo-European

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style of architecture, during its heyday the palace had over 150 rooms furnished with Louis XVI furniture, nine-hole golf course, polo ground, stable for horses and a dairy farm. The palace was full of

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

and ornamental works. The palace used to overlook the Hussain Sagar, but this view has now been blocked by other buildings.

References

External links

The Hindu featureA post on Google Earth Community
Government of Telangana press release Heritage structures in Hyderabad, India Hyderabad State Palaces in Hyderabad, India {{India-struct-stub