Alwar City Palace sits directly below Bala Qila at the base of the hill, with a large man-made tank in front and the old town wrapped around it. Architecturally it mixes Rajput and Mughal elements – arched gateways, delicate jharokhas, painted halls, and a series of courtyards stepping up towards the hill. The upper floors and inner wings feel more intimate and residential, while the lower levels have large durbar spaces and arcades now partly used as government offices. In the central block, the Government Museum displays sculptures, weapons, manuscripts, coins and a major collection of miniature paintings from Alwar and other Rajput/Mughal schools.
About this place
History & highlights
The present palace, also called Vinay Vilas Mahal, was built mainly by Raja Bakhtawar Singh in 1791 CE, at a time when the newly formed Alwar state was asserting itself between Jaipur and Delhi. Later rulers added courtyards and decorated interiors through the 19th century, making the palace a showpiece of Alwar’s wealth and cosmopolitan taste. The royal art and arms collection was gradually systematised and opened as the Alwar Museum in 1940 under Maharaja Tej Singh, and after independence it became the state-run Government Museum, Alwar, now housing thousands of objects (over 9,000 coins, 2,500 paintings, large armoury, manuscripts in Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Sanskrit, etc.).
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