Cooch Behar Palace, Kolkata, West Bengal India

Idealised from the concept of classical European style of Italian Renaissance, this magnificent palace was built by the famous Koch king Maharaja Nripendra Narayan in 1887. Raised on a basement of 1.5 metres in height, this double storied brick building covers an area of 4768 square metres. It extends 120 metres from north to south and 90 metres from east to west. The frontal facade consists of a series of arches resting by an alternate arrangement of narrow and  broad  piers to  contain  single  and  double Corinthian pilasters respectively.
   

A porch is  projected in the   center   to  provide  main  entrance to the building through   the Durbar Hall.   Recalling  the  memory of St. Peter's Church at Rome,  the Durbar Hall is dodecagonal in shape, resting   on four  arches  supported  by  massive Corinthian pilasters and projecting a lantern at the top. The intrados of the dome is relieved in stepped patterns and flanked by a small elegant balcony with twelve window openings at the base. In the center of the Durbar Hall, the marble floor contains the royal insignia in pietradura. The building contains more than fifty rooms/halls of varied dimensions which include the bedrooms, dressing rooms, billiard room, kitchen, dinning hall, dancing hall, library, toshakhana and the ladies gallery. Certain  rooms  deserve   special attention   for their  beautiful paintings in  the  ceiling  as well as in the interior wall surface.

Cooch Behar the land of Koch Rajbongshi people. Cooch Behar  is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the name of the town which gives its name to the district. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely state of the same name, ruled by the Narayan dynasty. In course of time, Cooch Behar has been transformed from a kingdom to a state and from a state to the present status of a district. Before 28 August 1949, Cooch Behar was a Princely state ruled by the king of Cooch Behar,India came into force on 12 September 1949. Eventually, Cooch Behar was transferred and merged with the province of West Bengal on 19 January 1950 and from that date Cooch Behar emerged as a new District in the administrative map of West Bengal.