5/5 Madan B. 4 years ago on Google • 70 reviews
Victoria
Memorial
is
one
of
the
famous
and
beautiful
monuments
of
Kolkata.
It
was
built
between
1906
and
1921
to
commemorate
Queen
Victoria's
25-year
reign
in
India.
After
the
Sepoy
Mutiny
of
1857,
the
British
government
gathered
the
reins
of
control
of
the
country
directly,
and
in
1876
the
British
parliament
made
Victoria
the
Empress
of
India.
Her
reign
ended
with
her
death
in
1901.
The
Victoria
Memorial
is
possibly
the
most
awesome
reminder
of
the
Raj
to
be
found
in
India.
This
huge
white-marble
museum,
made
from
Makrana
marbles
from
Rajasthan,
is
filled
with
a
vast
collection
of
remnants
from
the
period
of
British
Empire
rule
in
India.
The
forms
in
the
museum
like
the
great
dome,
clustered
with
four
subsidiary,
octagonal
domed
chattris,
the
high
portals,
the
terrace
and
the
domed
corner
towers
speak
of
a
splendid
richness
in
architecture.
The
Memorial
is
situated
on
64
acres
of
land
with
the
building
covering
338
ft
by
228
ft.
Lord
Curzon,
who
was
then
the
Viceroy
of
India,
placed
the
question
of
setting
up
a
'stately'
memorial
for
Queen
Victoria,
on
her
death
in
January
1901
to
the
public.
The
princes
and
people
of
India
responded
generously
to
his
appeal
for
funds
and
Lord
Curzon
derived
the
total
cost
of
construction
of
this
monument
amounting
to
one
crore,
five
lakhs
of
rupees
(Rs.1,05,00,000)
from
their
voluntary
subscriptions.
The
Prince
of
Wales,
King
George
V,
laid
the
foundation
stone
on
January
4,
1906
and
it
was
formally
opened
to
the
public
in
1921.
The
Victoria
Memorial
is
a
landmark
in
the
history
of
Indian
architecture
and
the
credit
for
that
justly
goes
to
Lord
Curzon
who
chose
persons
like
Sir
William
Emerson,
President
of
the
British
Institute
of
Architects,
to
design
and
plan
the
building
and
entrust
the
construction
work
to
the
very
famous
Messrs.
Martin
&
Co.
of
Calcutta.
This
grandiloquent
structure
presently
houses
a
museum
of
British
India
memorabilia
like
a
large
collection
of
oil
paintings
and
water
colours
by
famous
European
artists
like
Charles
D'oyly,
Johann
Zoffany,
William
Hadges,
William
Simpson,
Tilly
Kettle,
Thomas
Hickey,
Bultzar
Solvyns,
Thomas
Hickey,
Emily
Eden
and
others.
Besides
these,
the
Memorial
also
houses
the
largest
collection
in
the
world
of
the
paintings
by
the
Daniells.
The
Royal
Gallery
is
a
storehouse
of
oil
paintings
of
Queen
Victoria
receiving
the
sacrament
at
her
coronation
in
the
Westminster
Abbey
in
June
1838;
her
marriage
with
Prince
Albert
(1840),
the
christening
of
the
Prince
of
Wales,
the
marriage
of
the
Prince
of
Wales
(Edward
VII)
with
Princess
Alexandra
and
others.
The
Memorial's
grandeur
at
a
height
of
200
feet
(184
ft
up
to
the
base
of
the
figure
of
Victory,
which
is
again
16
ft
high)
is
accentuated
by
the
serenity
that
engulfs
you
in
its
corridors.
The
groups
of
figures
above
the
north
porch
represent
Motherhood,
Prudence
and
Learning.
Surrounding
the
main
dome
are
figures
of
Art,
Architecture,
Justice,
Charity
etc.
The
vastness
and
splendour
of
Victoria
Memorial
can
be
comprehended
from
the
fact
that
it
has
been
divided
into
different
divisions
like
the
garden,
library
and
others
for
maintenance
and
also
houses
a
host
of
valuable
articles
like
the
dagger
of
Tipu
Sultan,
a
cannon
used
in
the
battle
of
Plassey,
rare
books
that
date
back
to
1870,
valuable
manuscripts
like
the
Ain-i-Akbari
by
Abul
Fazal,
rare
postage
stamps
and
Western
paintings
to
entice
the
visitors
to
this
awesome
monument.
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