The Ranjit Vilas Palace is a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

in the city of

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and is the residence of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

of the erstwhile

Rajkot State Rajkot State was one of the princely states of India during the period of British rule. It was a 9-gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital was in Rajkot, located in the historical Halar region ...

History

Ranjit Vilas was built in 1870 by the then Thakor Sahib of Rajkot, Bawajiraj Mehrmansinhji. The construction of the palace was begun as a famine relief measure following the famine of 1847. Before it shifted to the Ranjit Vilas, the royal residence was the Durbargadh Palace which thereafter continued to house offices of the Rajkot State and, after India’s independence, those of the

government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

Location and architecture

The palace is located on Palace Road, Rajkot and its estate covers an area of 225

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s. The palace is built in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

and has 100 rooms spread over six acres. The palace

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

contains a collection of

vintage car A vintage car is, in the most general sense, an old automobile, and in the narrower senses of car enthusiasts and collectors, it is a car from the period of 1919 to 1930, Either a "survivor" or one that has been fixed up according to the or ...

s of the Rajkot State. A temple dedicated to

Ashapura Mata Ashapura Mata is an aspect of Devi, a Hindu goddess. She is one of the kuldevis of Kutch and Rajasthan, and the Jadeja clan of Gujarat, Chauhans and Patiyats inhabiting the western Indian provinces. She is a goddess regarded to fulfill the wi ...

stands on the palace premises.

Recent history

The palace continues to be the residence of the royal family of Rajkot, being one of the few palaces of erstwhile ruling families that have not been opened to the public as heritage hotels, and hosts family and political functions involving the royal family. In 2020, it was the venue of the coronation of the current Thakor Saheb of Rajkot, Mandhatasinh Jadeja who succeeded his father

Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji Jadeja (18 November 1935 – 27 September 2018) was an Indian politician. Early life The eldest son of Pradyumansinhji Lakhajirajsinhji, the 14th Thakore Saheb, Manoharsinhji was born at the Ranjit Vilas Palac ...

. The palace is also part of an ongoing property dispute between Jadeja and his sister. The design for the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the new international airport at Rajkot has been inspired by the Ranjit Vilas Palace and the use of jalis in palaces as a means of controlling internal temperatures in buildings.

References

{{coord, 22.2935, 70.8093, type:landmark_region:IN, display=title Royal residences in India Palaces in Gujarat Rajkot