Wasif Manzil (also known as Wasef Manzil and New Palace) was built by Nawab

Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Sir Sayyid Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (; 7 January 1875 – 23 October 1959) was the Nawab of Murshidabad during 1906–1959. Sir Wasif Ali Mirza was educated at Sherborne School, Rugby School and later at Trinity College, Oxford, Trinity Col ...

under the direction and supervision of Mr. Vivian, officer of the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

of the

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...

Rivers Division and Surendra Barat, a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

engineer. This building, rather palace was used by the Nawab as his residence. The building is extremely close to the

Hazarduari Palace The Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the ''Bara Kothi'', is a former palace and now a national monument and public cultural museum, located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated nea ...

. It is built on the '' Nizamat Fort Campus'' between the campus's ''Dakshin Darwaza'' (south gate) and the

, just opposite the campus's South Zurud Mosque and parallel to the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly River.

Geography

Location

Wasif Manzil is located at .

and its associated sites in the Kila Nizamat area (forming the central area in the map alongside) is the centre of attraction in Murshidabad. Just a little away are

Katra Masjid The Katra Masjid is a former Shia caravanserai, mosque and tomb, in a partial ruinous state, located in the north eastern side of the city of Murshidabad, in the state of West Bengal, India. The complex contains the tomb of its founder, Nawab M ...

Fauti Mosque The Fauti Mosque, also known as the Phuti Mosque, is a former mosque in a ruinous state, located at Kumarpur in the Murshidabad-Jiaganj CD block in the Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district, in the state of West Bengal, India. It was built ...

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

and the Motijhil area. There is a group of attractions in the northern part of the town (as can be seen in the map alongside). Some attractions such as

Khushbagh Khushbagh (also spelled as Khoshbagh; literally "Garden of Happiness") is the garden-cemetery of the Nawabs of Bengal, situated on the west bank of the Hooghly river, about a mile from its east bank, in the Murshidabad-Jiaganj CD block in Lalb ...

, Rosnaiganj,

Baranagar Baranagar (Bengali language, Bengali: বরানগর) is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area ...

Kiriteswari Temple Kiriteswari Temple is situated in Kiritkona village under the Nabagram (community development block), Nabagram Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal. This i ...

Karnasuvarna Karnasuvarna or Karnasubarna ( Bengali : কর্ণসুবর্ণ অথবা কানসোনা) was an ancient city, located in the present day Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision of Murshidabad district, West Bengal ...

and others are on the other side of the river and there are attractions in the neighbouring

Berhampore Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest city ...

area also (not shown in the map). Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in Murshidabad city. Most of the places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. A few, without pages yet, remain unmarked. The map has a scale. It will help viewers to find out the distances.

Destruction

The palace was extensively destroyed in the 1897 earthquake on 12 June. The whole of the palace's second storey came down within a few seconds. It was repaired later but without the second storey. Adjacent to the palace was an artificial hill and a landscape garden which now cease to exist.

Features

The palace has been designed to look a little like a castle with small corner

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

s on the corners. The palace has a semi-circular pediment with the Nawabs of Murshidabad's coat of arms on it. Now, the palace is maintained by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

and has been transformed into a museum. The palace has a garden space in front of it which has a fountain and several marble statues. The garden space is enclosed with a handsome iron railing. The main entrance is a Norman archway with open-work iron doors. The staircases and statues inside the palace are also made of marble and are worth seeing.

Wasif Manzil picture gallery

File:Wasif Manzil - Nizamat Fort Campus - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6554-6557.tif, Wasif Manzil File:Wasif Manjil alias New Palace at Murshidabad.jpg, Wasif Manzil File:Statue - Wasif Manzil Garden - Nizamat Fort Campus - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6552.JPG, Statue File:Coat Of Arms - Stucco Decoration - Wasif Manzil - Nizamat Fort Campus - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6551.JPG, Coat of Arms - stucco decoration File:Wasif Manzil - Nizamat Fort Campus - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6543-6549.tif, Wasif Manzil

References

{{Tourist attractions in Murshidabad Tourist attractions in Murshidabad Palaces in West Bengal Buildings and structures in Murshidabad district Nawabs of Murshidabad Houses completed in 1904 1904 establishments in India