Paigah Palace is a palace 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 ...

, India. It was built by Sir Vicar-ul-Umra, a Paigah

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. This was built after he gave the famous

Falaknuma Palace Falaknuma is a former palace and currently a luxury hotel in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It originally belonged to the Paigah (Hyderabad), Paigah family, and was later owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is on a hillock and covers a area in F ...

to the sixth Nizam 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 ...

Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI Asaf Jah VI, also known as Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911), was the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad State, one of the princely states of India, between 1869 and 1911. Early life Mahboob Ali ...

. The Palace housed the Consulate General of the United States of America in Hyderabad till 15 March 2023, after which the mission began services in its new chancery at Nanakramguda.

History

Between 1975 and 2008, the palace housed the office of the

Hyderabad Urban Development Authority The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was created in 1975, vide an act of the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly, State Assembly of Andhra Pradesh. History Its jurisdiction was expanded in 2008 by merging it with the surrounding mandal ...

. In 1999, a four-storeyed annexe was added towards the rear side of the palace.

Paigah Family

In the hierarchy of nobles of Hyderabad, the Paigah family ranked immediately next to the ruling family of Nizams. The Paigahs were also the foremost palace builders of Hyderabad. Vikarul Umra also built the Paigah Palace in

Begumpet Begumpet ("Begum's Place") is an upscale locality of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Begumpet is named after the daughter of the sixth Nizam (Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI), Basheer Unnisa Begum, who received it as part of her wedding dowry when ...

, in 1900. Nawab Abul Fatah Khan Bahadur, the eldest grandson of Sir Vicar ul Umra and son of Amir e Paigah H.E. Nawab Sultan ul Mulk, was the last member of the Paigah family to have lived in this Palace. Near the Paigah Palace lies the Deoris of Nawab Muzaffar Nawaz Jung, Fareed Nawaz Jung, Nawab Nazir Nawaz Jung, Nawab Khair Nawaz Jung and Nawab Hassan Yar Jung, grandsons of Sir Vikar ul Umra and Vikhar Manzil (all these palaces were built by Sir Vicar between 1897 and 1901). The Deori of Nazir Nawaz Jung and Fareed Nawaz Jung, called Chiraan Fort Palace, is a beautiful, two-storeyed palace in Mughal style. It has wide verandas facing outwards as well as inwards overlooking a courtyard. The complex is partly converted into a club. The rest of the area is used as a residence.

US diplomatic mission

The palace was acquired from the descendants of Vicar-ul-Umra by the

in 1981. In 2008, the site was temporarily leased to the United States to house its consulate-general from 2008 until 2023. The preparation work required by the US included felling 42 trees for security reasons. This came in for heavy criticism from Indian environmentalists and architects for disrespecting a heritage site in a way that would not be permitted in the US.

Description

The palace is spread over 4 acres of land. It is a large two-storied neo-classical building with a portico, semicircular arches, unfluted Corinthian columns, projected and pedimented windows and deep arcaded verandahs on all four sides.

References

{{coord missing, Telangana Heritage structures in Hyderabad, India Palaces of Paigah of Hyderabad