Discover India: Victoria Memorial Hall

Location / significance / history / monuments / architecture / structure / foundation / map / design / area / architect / height / elevation / travel / photography tips / tourism / archway / monuments / lawns / gardens / marble stones / carvings / statues / sculptures / lawns / fountains / entry fees / timing / picture gallery of Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata , West Bengal , India

Built exclusively of white marble, Victoria Memorial is one of India's most stunning monuments. It embodies a unique blend of classical European architecture and Mughal ornamentation. The arched and white marble museum lounges over 64 acres and is sited in a landscaped garden in the southern part of the Kolkata's Maidan (ground) in the vicinity of Jawaharlal Nehru Road. Designed after the Taj Mahal in Agra, it has a huge collection of pictures, manuscripts, letters, statues, letters etc, involving the Nawabi and British stronghold in Bengal.

The memorial was the motivation of Lord Curzon, who in 1901, felt that his recently departed Queen Victoria, needed an appropriate monument to her reminiscence. She was the first British sovereign hailed with the title of Queen-Empress of India in 1877. The structure was designed by Sir William Emerson, the President of the British Institute of Architects. Vincent J Esch who was an assistant Engineer in the Bengal Nagpur Railway, was the supervisor and architect and the job of building was handed over to Messrs Martin and Company of Kolkata. Sir David Prain and Lord Redesdale prepared the design of the gardens. in spite of the fact that the construction of the substructure of the monument commenced in 1904, it was completed barely after 20 years at a cost of 10 million rupees. The Prince of Wales officially inaugurated it during 1921.