Visit Victoria Memorial Hall, a Landmark of Kolkata
Victoria memorial Hall Kolkata, a historical monument, is a must visit place in Kolkata. It is Kolkata’s most famous landmark. It is almost impossible to give it a miss.
Victoria Memorial Hall Architecture
The iconic structure, Victoria Museum, is built entirely of white marble and easily stands out. It is distinct and elegant with its unique combination of British and Mughal architectural motifs. The memorial draws influences from Islamic, Venetian, Egyptian and Deccani styles. The building was the result of a British national’s attempt to create a replica of the Taj Mahal!
Architect of Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata: William Emerson, Vincent Esch.
Lord Curzon, who represented the British during its rule in India, built this monument in memory of Queen Victoria. The Hall is a huge museum that needs at least 3 hours for a viewer to do moderate justice to its contents. The exhibits are all well-catalogued and displayed. Ticket charges are nominal.
Most striking features of Victoria memorial hall are the arches. The entrance arches soar through two high storeys. They are dominated by a colonnaded dome and capped by three tons of bronzed and victorious angel.
Victoria Memorial Hall gardens
Standing high atop the central dome, the Angel of Victory, 16 feet high and three tonnes in weight, is the cherry on the cake. Like the Queen the Memorial is dedicated to, she is also called Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, a counterpart to the Greek Nike.
Displays in Victoria memorial Hall Kolkata
Victoria Memorial Calcutta (old name of Kolkata) has a notable collection of weapons, sculptures, paintings, maps, coins, stamps and several other artifacts. It has 25 galleries and display areas, including the Royal Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Durbar Hall and the Calcutta Gallery. The historical section is well-documented and presented. I could easily follow the chronology of events that led to Britain’s complete domination of India.
The highlights of the Royal gallery in the Victoria Memorial Hall are the portraits of the Queen and Prince Albert. Numerous other paintings illustrate events from the Queen’s life. They offer a map of displays at the entrance to the museum. It would be good to plan out the tour inside and visit those that interest you.
Victoria Memorial Hall facade
The Jaipur Procession, is the largest painting in the Victoria Memorial Kolkata. The 23-foot wide by 16.5-foot-high masterpiece by Russian painter Vasily Vereshchagin depicts a majestic procession of richly adorned elephants, horses, and footmen advancing in front of the Amber Chowpar in Jaipur in 1876. Seated on the first elephant are the Prince of Wales and Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur. Created during the British Raj, the painting was originally owned by Edward Malley of New Haven, USA. It was later acquired by the Maharaja of Jaipur and presented to the Victoria Memorial in 1905.
The most disappointing fact of the visit Victoria Memorial Hall is that, photography wasn’t permitted inside the Hall. However, photography is permitted in the gardens, so you can take pictures of Victoria Memorial Kolkata from the garden lawns.
Museums have this unusual rule, though there is no single formula followed by museums uniformly worldwide. While the Louvre in Paris allows photography, a few museums in Italy do not permit using cameras. The Vatican museum permits photography. Strange!
Victoria Memorial Hall Kolkata
There is a canteen in Victoria Museum premises The canteen is a small one but clean. Around 30 people can have lunch at a time. Food quality is average. Outside food is allowed in Victoria Memorial Park.
Victoria Memorial Calcutta
Victoria Museum Tickets and Timings
Museum Timings: Victoria Memorial Hall Museum is open on all days except Mondays. It is open 10AM to 5PM and is closed on all national holidays.
Victoria Memorial Hall Garden: Open from 5.30 AM to 7 PM throughout the year and closes at 6.45PM.
Tickets: The tickets cost 20 INR per person. Foreigners’ ticket cost: 200 INR per person. School children up to class XII in uniform and army personnel do not have to pay any entry fee.
Address: Victoria Memorial Hall,1, Queen’s Way, Kolkata – 700071, INDIA
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Incredible architecture! Mesmerizing to say the least. Hope I get to see this for real someday. 🙂
Wonderful!
Superb architecture !
Royal…Lovely captures…
Amazing monuments of the past. With latest technology such buildings cannot be made today.
Nice shots…the treasure inside can be comparable to any museum…
I visited it when I was in 4th standard! It looks quite British! Lovely pictures.
What a lovely building! It would be nice to take a tour inside too. Thanks for sharing, have a happy day!
Great structure. Boom & gary.
royal looking 🙂
It does look so British with many elements reminiscent of Museums here. Like you I do not understand why we are forbidden to take photographs.
Kolkata is high on my list of places to visit in India – thanks for the nice pictures!
It's a beautiful building but I don't believe it compares to the Taj!! Sad that one cannot take non flash photography in places.
That is so lovely! Wonderful shots of the architecture.
It's grand, and you can see the British influence!
Amazing shots of Victoria Memorial.
I had been there many times and used to marvel at the beauty of the building.Surely a landmark for Kolkata.
Those columns are my favorite part. Just beautiful!
What a magnificent building. The museum it holds sounds fabulous, even if no photography is allowed.
That is quite a monument. I'm sure the museum is fascinating.
I visited this wonderful monument in 2010 and it was a great experience. I loved the pics…. 🙂
This is such a wonderful building.
Oh, how beautiful, Indrani!! The detail is indeed incredible! I would love to visit there!! Your photos are the next best thing! Thanks for sharing! Have a great week!
Just amazing! There is so much details everywhere you look..
A lovely place, India at its best.
A beautiful museum. And yes strange the rules are that different.. :º
wow! really lovely and quite impressive!
Love the clicks
Awesome photos, Great post.
WOW! I would love to tour this intriguing place!
Had been here in Dec 2012.
Yes its a pity that they don't allow photography inside. Instead I wrote 3 blogs by taking pictures outside and of the lawns.