List of Heritage Buildings in Mysore
This article lists heritage and monumental edifice built before the Indian Independence in and around Mysore City in the first section, and then tabulates modern buildings. The history of Mysore city, in particular, and of the Mysore Plateau in general, spans across both the eras. Mysore is believed to have been formed into a republic even before the mythical times of Medieval India. The regions in and around the Mysore belts find mentioning from Vedic scripts, where the region is termed as Mahishaka (the mighty/great kingdom).
History
Over the centuries, before and after the Common Era, the region was ruled by different, numerous dynasties, mostly South Indian ones, like the Rashtrakutas, the Western Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and others, until it was ruled by the last dynasty, the Wadiyars, the government of whose kingdom was transferred to them by its superior predecessor, the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1399, and gradually, the Vijayanagara Empire itself declined to its entirety, resulting in the Wadiyar Dynasty's being the very last principal Indian royal family to have ruled the South.
Patrons during Princely India
Most of the construction works undertaken by earlier empires and monarchies have either been completely destroyed over time, owing to rampages of the Deccan Sultanates, or have been dismantled by the following monarchies. However, most of the structures in Mysore City, and in fact, in the cities in the Kingdom of Mysore, which includes as close as Bangalore, Erode, Shimoga, Chitradurga, among others, were built between the early 1700s and the late 1940s, and are, hence, often attributed to the Wadiyars.
Since Mysore was the capital city of the kingdom for almost six centuries (excluding, of course, shifting the capital to Seringapatam for a brief period during Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan's rule), the Wadiyars were directly supervising the construction and progress of the city. Construction in other Mysore Kingdom cities were delegated to subordinates, like that of Bangalore to Kempe Gowda I (between 1510 and 1569 under Chamaraja Wodeyar II and Chamaraja Wodeyar III), Shimoga to Shivappa Nayaka (between 1645 and 1660 under Kanthirava Narasaraja I), et cetera. After the decline of strong subordinates and the influence of British rule, the Wadiyars became principal, direct rulers of Mysore Kingdom, with supervisors mostly being the Diwans (Prime Ministers) of Mysore and British agents. Therefore, while other cities attribute their progress to the subordinates of the Wadiyars, Mysore credits all its progress to the Wadiyars. After the abolishment of absolute monarchy, most of the structures are being used by the democratic government bodies, like the Indian Government's using Cheluvamba Vilas Palace as CFTRI, University of Mysore's using Jayalakshmi Vilas Palace as University Museum and Oriental Research Library as Museum Library, and the Karnataka Government's using several palaces for tourism attraction, just to name a few within Mysore city.
List of Pre-Independence Edifice
Year | Building | Name | Currently |
---|---|---|---|
Palaces | |||
1912 | ![]() |
Mysore Palace | Palace: temporary tenant: Government of Karnataka; owners: the Royal Family |
1861 | ![]() |
Jaganmohana Palace | Currently, Shri Jayachamarajendra Arts Gallery and Jaganmohana Palace Arts and Crafts Museum |
1916 | ![]() |
Chittaranjan Palace | Currently, The Green Hotel, an eco-friendly hotel |
1921 | ![]() |
Lalithamahal Palace | Currently, The Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, a three-star hotel |
1905 | ![]() |
Jayalakshmi Vilas Palace | Now, Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion |
1918 | ![]() |
Cheluvamba Vilas Palace | Currently, Cheluvamba Vilas Mansion; used by CFTRI |
1924 | Rajendra Vilas Palace | Now, a private palace of the royal family | |
Academic Buildings | |||
1915 | ![]() |
Crawford Hall | University of Mysore |
1887 | ![]() |
Oriental Research Institute Mysore | A national library |
1876 | ![]() |
Marimallappa's High School | |
1840 | ![]() |
Hardwick High School | |
1851 | ![]() |
Maharaja's College | |
1917 | ![]() |
Maharani's College | |
1924 | ![]() |
Mysore Medical College | |
1917 | Chamarajendra Technical Institute | ||
1940 | ![]() |
D Banumaiah's Post-Graduation College | |
Sri Chamarajendra Ursu Boarding School | |||
1940 | ![]() |
D Banumaiah's College of Commerce and Arts | |
1927 | Yuvaraja's College | ||
Government Buildings | |||
1840 | DC Office | ||
1895 | Public Offices | ||
1899 | Law Court Buildings | ||
Public Buildings | |||
1884 | ![]() |
Town Hall | |
1918 | ![]() |
Krishnarajendra Hospital | |
1889 | ![]() |
Cheluvamba Hospital | |
1879 | Lansdowne Building | Commercial Complex | |
1870 | ![]() |
Railway Station | |
Religious Buildings | |||
1810 | ![]() |
The Parakala Mutt | |
1933 | ![]() |
St Philomina's Church | |
1670s | ![]() |
Chamundeshwari Temple | |