The Victoria Memorial Kolkata holds some fascinating facts that will literally tempt you to visit this monument at least once in a lifetime.
Victoria Memorial
is considered as one of the major landmarks in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. Constructed between 1906 and 1921 in memory of Queen Victoria, this white marbled monument resembles a lot like the Victoria Memorial in London. The entire structure is an architectural wonder, reflecting the Indo-Saracenic revivalist style of architecture. The Victoria Memorial Hall is now turned into a museum which houses a wide collection of paintings, maps, sculptures, portraits, stamps and more. Also, there’s a 16-feet tall bronze statue named ‘Angel of Victory’ sitting atop the structure. The memorial is nestled in a lush green park which offers tranquility to the visitors.
Here are some interesting facts about this striking monument:
Lord George Curzon, the Viceroy of India in early 20th century, first proposed to construct a massive memorial to honor Queen Victoria after her death in 1901.
King George V, the Prince of Wales, laid the foundation stone of Victoria Memorial in 1901.
Victoria Memorial is made of Makrana marble, just like Taj Mahal. Its design is also very much inspired from that of Taj Mahal.
The memorial was designed by the famous architect William Emerson. On the other hand, the beautiful garden surrounding the monument was designed by Lord Redesdale and David Prain. The garden is extremely well maintained, spreading over an area of 64 acres.
One can spot the inscription ‘VRI’ near the gate of the complex. It stands for ‘Victoria Regina Imperatrix’ which translates into ‘Victoria Queen and Empress’. Also, there’s ‘Dieu Et Mon Droit’ engraved on the entrance of the main Hall.
‘Angel of Victory’, the magnificent statue located atop the monument, weighs about 3.5 tones and was designed by Lindsay Clarke in Britain. The statue rotates with the wind.
There’s a total of 25 galleries (including the royal gallery, the sculpture gallery, the portrait gallery, the arms and armory gallery, Kolkata gallery etc.) inside the Victoria Memorial Hall.
Before The Victoria Memorial was constructed, there had been the Presidency Jail in the same location. The jail later moved to Alipore, so that the monument could be constructed here.
Aside from the British government, the construction of this structure was also funded by Indians. This included the royal families, politicians, businessmen and even common people.
The British painted the entire structure black during WWII, so that it wouldn’t get targeted by the Japanese air raid bombings.
