Sheesh Mahal Patiala Punjab History and Interesting Facts

Sheesh Mahal Patiala Quick Facts

Sheesh Mahal Patiala Overview

Situated in the Indian state of Punjab, Sheesh Mahal was a very attractive residential palace of the Maharaja of Patiala. Patiala is the 5th largest district of Punjab province. It shares its boundaries with Fatehgarh, Rupnagar and Chandigarh in the north, Sangrur in the west, Ambala and Kurukshetra in the east and Kaithal in the south.

Punjab, which is called the smiling soul of the country, is also a state with gardens and fort cities. The beautiful palaces, craggy fields and wonderful temples of Punjab add to the beauty of the state, which attracts lakhs of tourists from all over the country and abroad every year.

Sheesh Mahal Patiala History

This magnificent glass palace located in Patiala was built by Maharaja Narendra Singh in the year 1847. This palace is called the 'Palace of Mirrors' because of the attractive colored glass used in making the building.

In view of the poor condition of this palace in the year 2009, the state government started the construction of this palace which ended in April 2017.

Along with the exterior of the palace, showcases have been prepared in new techniques and designs to keep the medals of the long-closed Medal Gallery and other items including swords or items belonging to the kings and emperors.

Sheesh Mahal Patiala Interesting Facts

1. This Attractive palace is built behind Moti Bagh Palace, in the past it was a part of Moti Mahal Palace.
2. The palace was built in a forest with terraces, gardens, fountains and an artificial lake. The lake has two watch towers in the north and south and is connected to the Banasar Ghar which is a museum of stuffed animals.
3. There is a very Beautiful water lake in front of this palace, on which there is also a swing, which is known as Lakshman Jhula. This Jhoola looks like Lakshman Jhoola located in Rishikesh.
4. He called the great painters of Kangra and Rajasthan and made many types of picturesque scenes on the walls of this Sheesh Mahal, in which literature, mythological and folk tales were engraved.
5. The frescoes in these palaces are one of the finest frescoes of India made in the 19th century. These frescoes depict Rajasthani, Pahari and period culture.
6. The Most admired feature of the palace is the small Kangra style paintings that have been taken from the Gita Govinda, a great collection of poems by the great poet Rabindranath Tagore.
7. The palace also displays ivory crafts from Bihar Punjab, royal furniture made of wood and a large number of Burmese and Kashmiri handicrafts.
8. There is also a Museum inside the palace, which houses the largest collection of medals from different parts of the world. The collection includes medals from England, Austria, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Thailand, Japan and many other countries in Asia and Africa.
9. The Museum also contains some rare manuscripts, apart from the Janam Sakhi and Jain manuscripts, the most valuable being the one from Gulistan - Boston which was written by Sheikh Saadi of Shiraz.
10. Inside this magnificent fort, the ancient coins issued by the Maharajas of the former princely states of India are lying closed. Even Nanakshahi coins are present here.
11. There were 867 princely states in different regions of India, which used to have their own coins. About 29,700 coins are kept in boxes and glass boxes inside this palace of Patiala.
12. The Heritage and Saras Fair was organized in this palace from 21 February 2016 to 4 March 2016. Whose exhibition had a ticket of Rs 10, while the ticket for Star Night was Rs 100.
13. The palace is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm. Open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 9 pm. This palace is closed on Mondays. Here you can enter for free.