Victoria Memorial

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The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, and is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture.
Lord Curzon, who was then the Viceroy of India suggested setting up a stately memorial in the honour of the late Queen. He appealed to the people of India and the royalties to donate fund generously. The British government surprisingly did not spend a penny on this memorial. A whooping One crore Five Lacs rupees which was the cost to built the monument was donated by the people of India and the royalties!

Sir William Emerson, the President of British Institute of Architects, designed the building. The construction of the building was done by Martin & Co. of Kolkata. The foundation stone of this building was laid on January 4, 1906 and it took almost 15 years to complete it. The doors were opened for the public in 1921.

The Victoria Memorial is perhaps the most opulent structure if the British Raj in India. The huge white memorial is made from Makrana marble brought in from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It is the same type of marble from which the Taj Mahal was built. Perhaps the British built the Memorial keeping the Taj in mind! The elegant memorial has hybrid features with Italian style statues near the entrance, Mughal domes and other European styles of architecture. The Victoria Memorial also contains a museum which houses the art and artifacts of Victorian era. It also has a collection of oil paintings and water colour paintings of various European artists. After the Indian independence, portraits and relics relating to Indian independence found place in the museum.

Victoria Memorial Timings:

  • The garden remains open from 5:30 AM to 6.15 PM everyday.
  • The Victoria Memorial Gallery remains open from 10 AM to 5 PM
  • The Victoria Memorial Hall (museum) remains open on all working days except Monday. It also remains closed on public holidays. The timings are from 10 AM to 5 PM
  • A special sound and light show is held every evening at the gardens of the Memorial. The show depicts the erstwhile Calcutta to the modern Kolkata with all its pride and glory.

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