From their palaces touching the sky, to the fact that they own one of the most precious diamonds in the world and stories about all the fancy cars they owned – there is a lot we’ve heard about the opulence and the luxurious lifestyle of the Nizams. What if you could get a taste of all that grandeur?
A visit to these palaces in Hyderabad that the Nizam rulers once lived in will give you a glimpse of how they once lived. Some of these palaces which are known for their architecture also have belongings of the Nizams restored and put on display so that visitors can get to see them. While parts of some of them have been converted into hotels, some are still open to visits. A few of these palaces, however, are in dire need of restoration to make them look as beautiful as they do.
Here’s a list of some such palaces that still exist in Hyderabad today and will give you quite a memorable Nizami experience when you pay a visit to them.
Falaknuma literally translates to “mirror of the sky”. This massive, stunning artwork of a palace is located about 2,000 feet above the rest of the city and was built by the Nizam of Hyderabad – Sir Viqar-Ul-Umra. Most of the architecture is a blend of Italian and Tudor with luxurious interiors and furniture that is still there for us to see.
There are nearly 60 rooms decorated lavishly and 22 huge halls with really fancy interiors. As of now, a part of this palace has been taken over by the Taj hotels group. You can stay here and actually live, sleep and eat like a Nizam too. It’s all going to be very pricey but totally worth it!
After years of family disputes and much of the land being used up for family disputes, the Chowmahallah palace was saved by Princess Esra only recently when the restoration began. Today, it is open to visitors and is one of the few stunning palaces that stands as a reminder to the opulent Nizami architecture and lifestyle. Princess Esra is the first wife of the owner of the palace, Mukarram Jah.
The palace was originally constructed in 1750 by the Nizam ruler Salabat Jung. Built in Neo-classical style with gorgeous interiors, the southern courtyard of the palace has got four palaces within it. There are many halls and other structures in the northern courtyard. For the restoration work done on it, this palace was awarded with the UNESCO merit award.
Purani Haveli was named as the Purani Haveli or Haveli Khadeem by the last of the Nizams as they spent their childhood in the palace after which their residence was changed to another palace. Built in the 1800s this haveli is actually not too old compared with other palaces so we can’t really take the name seriously.
Built in a ‘U’ shape, this palace was built resembling 18th century European palaces and has got some unique features which still draw people here such as a really long wardrobe which happens to be the largest in the world, a glass house and a Chinese house all within the huge palace. Today, a part of the palace is used as a school and a part as an industrial training centre. It does have people coming in to see the traces of Nizami life here although there has been no proper restoration.
The hill fort palace is relatively new and is just 100 years old located in the heart of the city at Naubat Pahad spread out over 6 acres. After being a home to prince Moazzam Jah, it has been taken over by a hotel. From the beginning of the 80s to the end of the 90s, it was owned by Ritz hotel but now is in ruins. This huge building has been used for art exhibitions sometimes in the recent past. As of now this palace belongs to the Telangana government and is in need of restoration so that this beautiful structure can be preserved or put to use.
Jubilee hall was a palace built in the more recent times in the year 1913. This huge rectangular building with its Persian-inspired architecture was named as the Jubilee hall as a silver Jubilee function of one of the Nizam princes was held here. It serves as a state conference hall now and you can take a look at this building, it’s beautiful, large interiors and the gardens around it as a visitor whenever you’d like to.
The King Kothi palace which was owned by Mir Osman Ali Khan, one of the rulers of Hyderbad rulers who lived here almost all through all of his life. This palace was built in 1911, relatively recently, with European architecture and had a gate built with the complex octagonal pyramidal shape and very delicate wood work done on some of its arches.
As of now, this palace only has two of its mansions left, one of it still belonging to the Nizami descendants while the other half being used as a hospital. Many of the belongings of the Nizams are still locked in some safes for people to see in some of these buildings of the King Koti palace today. You can pay a visit to the remnant buildings of this palace really old at the moment and could definitely do with some restoration work.
Have you been to any of these palaces? What was your experience? You can share them with us here.
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