Laxmi Vilas Palace

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Lakshmi Vilas Palace (Gujarati: લક્ષ્મી વિલાસ મહેલ) is a historic palace and royal residence located in Vadodara, Gujarat, India. The palace was commissioned in 1878 by Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the ruler of Baroda State, and constructed in 1890 by British architects Charles Mant and Robert Chisholm. Named after Sayajirao's first wife Lakshmibai, it served as the royal residence of the Gaekwad dynasty, a Maratha family which ruled the princely state of Baroda until its accession to the Dominion of India in 1947. With a complex spanning over 500 acres, the palace is one of the world's largest private residences, and is a prominent example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, combining elements from Indo-Islamic and Renaissance architectural styles.

Constructed at a cost of Rs. 6 million, the palace featured several technologically advanced amenities at the time of its completion, including indoor elevators and a telephone exchange. The main palace houses the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum and serves as the living quarters of Samarjitsinh Gaekwad, the current ceremonial head of the Gaekwad dynasty. In addition to the palace, the overall building complex encompasses multiple gardens, the Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club, and the Moti Bagh Stadium. In 2024, Samarjitsinh announced plans to convert the palace into a hotel and tourist resort.

內容改寫自 Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。照片來自 Wikimedia Commons.