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Museums in Bangalore

Government Museum


This is one of the oldest museums in the country and was opened in 1886. It has 18 galleries housing Neolithic finds from the Chandravalli excavations and from the Indus Valley. It also has an exquisite collection of coins, art, textiles, Thanjavur paintings and Vijaynagar, Hoysala sculptures as well as some fine pieces from Halebid and some antique jewelry and geology. The Museum is on Kasturba road along the southern edge of Cubbon Park. It is terribly maintained but it is worth a visit. (Timings: daily 10 am - 5 pm;except Mon Admission: free)

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,
From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms


Bangalore Art Museum
Situated in Cubbon Park this is similar to the Attara Kacheri with the same red colour and architectural style. The original block was designed and built by Colonel Sankey, in 1876. Several wings have been added on in the later years, all of which remarkably conform to the parent style. The original collection in the museum belonged to B. L. Rice of the Mysore Gazetteer. Being one of the oldest museums in the country, it has an exquisite collection of coins, sculptures, old paintings, inscriptions and excavated items. Timings: 10 am to 5 pm . Monday is a holiday. Admission is by tickets.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,

From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms


Sir. M.Vishweshwaraya IT Museum

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum is one of the units of National Council of Science Museums an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

A Brief History of the Museum:

Around 1960 prominent industrialists acted on an idea of setting up an industrial museum & Visvesvaraya Industrial Museum society was formed. Building of about 40,000 sq.ft area was built in Cubbon park with the financial support of industrialists, State & Government of India. On 11th Nov. 1962 late Prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the museum. The first gallery on "Electro Technic" was opened to the public on 27th July, 1965.


In 1978 National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) an autonomous society was set up under the Dept. of Culture, Govt. of India.


Opening Timings
Exhibition Hours: 10 am to 6 pm.
Open on all days of the year.(Except Ganesha Chathurthi and Deepavali)

Location
The museum is situated at Kasturba Road in the sylvan surroundings of Cubbon Park surrounded by stately buildings like Vidhan Soudha, High court etc. It is just 5 kms from City Railway & Bus station.

Bus Routes
#23 & 37 Pushpak # 150, 154, 155, 291, 293, 294C & 408

Admission Charges
General Visitors : Rs.20/-
Students/Organised Groups: Rs.10/-
Taramandal Show: Rs.5/-
Science Demonstration Show: Rs.2/-
3D Film Show: Rs.10/ for school group, Rs. 20/- for general visitors

Entry to the Museum is free for the army, navy, air-force and police personnel in uniform and the physically challenged and children below 5 years of age.

Contact Information:
Telephone:91-080-22866200
Director’s Office : 91-080-22864114
Telefax:91-080-22864009
email:vitm@vsnl.com
Gram: VISMUSEUM


Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,

From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms


Nehru Planetarium

The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium is situated at T. Chowdiah Road in Bangalore. Established in the year 1989, it counts amongst the popular tourist attractions of the city. There is a sky theater inside the planetarium, with a huge dome that has a diameter of fifteen meters. It has a seating capacity of 225 and serves as the venue for two shows of astronomy on a daily basis. The timings of the show are 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm, with the exception of Mondays. In the following lines, we have provided more information on the Jawahar Lal Nehru Planetarium of Bangalore, India.

The shows held here are extremely good and provide a good view as well as factual knowledge on astronomy. There is also an observatory inside the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium of Bangalore. It has on display a professional six-inch code refractor telescope. The main aim behind the establishment of the planetarium was to promote an understanding of astronomy, amongst students as well as the other individuals. A sightseeing tour of the Bangalore city must include a visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium.


http://www.taralaya.org
Distance:

From BIAL airport - 35 kms ,

From city railway station - 3 kms
From city bus station - 3 kms


Tourist attraction buildings

Vidhana Soudha:


The Vidhana Soudha, located in Bangalore (Bengaluru), is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as 'Neo-Dravidian', and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani Jharokha and Dravidian styles.
It was built in the 1950s. Shri Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Chief Minister of Mysore from 1951 to 1956, is credited with the conception of the Vidhana Soudha. He visited Europe, Russia, United States and other places and got the idea of building Vidhana Soudha by incorporating various designs from the buildings he had seen. The foundation was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. It was completed in 1956. Kengal Hanumanthaiah took a lot of interest and effort in building this marvelous granite building. It is also called as Taj Mahal of south India[citation needed]. Thousands of prisoners were used to build this building because of shortage of laborers. Kengal Hanumanthaiah had to face lot of criticism as the cost of building increased during the construction.
The Vidhana Soudha has four floors above and one floor below ground level and sprawls across an area of 700 by 350 feet. It is the largest Legislative building in India. Its eastern face has a porch with 12 granite columns, 40 feet tall. Leading to the foyer is a flight of stairs with 45 steps, more than 200 feet wide. The central dome, 60 feet in diameter, is crowned by a likeness of the Indian national emblem.
The cost of construction at that time was just 17.5 million rupees. But presently, annual maintenance cost itself is more than 20 million rupees (which include repairs, painting, and other miscellaneous expenses).
The building is illuminated on Sundays and public holidays.
The Karnataka government has constructed a replica named Vikasa Soudha to the south of the building. Initiated by the then Chief Minister S M Krishna and inaugurated in February 2005, it is intended to be an annex housing some of the ministries and legislative offices.
Opposite to Vidhana soudha is The High Court of Karnataka. Both buildings are in the Cubbon park.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,
From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms


High Court:

The Karnataka High Court is the High Court of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. The high court functions out of a red brick building known as Attara Kacheri. It is in front of Vidhana Soudha, which is the seat of the legislature of Karnataka.

The history of the Karnataka High Court can be traced back to the year 1884 when the Chief Court of Mysore was created with three judges and was designated as the highest court of appeal, reference and revision in the State of Mysore, the earlier name of Karnataka. court had District Courts, Sub-ordinate Judges' Courts and Munsiff Courts to assist it on civil cases and a Court of Sessions, District Magistrate and First, Second and Third Class Magistrates to assist it on criminal cases. 1881, the office of the Chief Judge was created and the designated person had the utmost authority in the court. In 1930, it was renamed as the High Court of Mysore and the Chief Judge was given the new name of Chief Justice. In 1973, it got its present name of Karnataka High Court.

The high court is located in a building called as Attara Kacheri (meaning Eighteen offices). It is a two-storied building, red in colour and has been built in the neoclassical style. The construction of the building was supervised by Rao Bahadur Arcot Narayanaswamy Mudaliar and completed in the year 1868. It was earlier named as Old Public Offices and got its name of Attara Kacheri when the eighteen departments in the general and revenue secretariat of the Mysore Government were shifted here from their crowded premises in Tipu Sultan's summer palace. There was a proposal to demolish this building in the year 1982. a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in order to save this ancient building from getting demolished. This was the first PIL to be filed in the Karnataka High court and the case was heard in the very building that was supposed to be demolished.August 1984, the judges M. N. Venkatachaliah and Vittal Rao pronounced a judgement that stayed the demolition.


Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,
From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms


Vikas soudha:

Vikasa Soudha has built on 7.5 acre of land with 58,274 SqMeter with 4 upper floor & 3 floors in under ground overall 8 floors with 15 conference halls & 360 rooms. This also has a Solar Power supply, Rain water harvesting, Modren interiors, Secret printing press, Parking facility & also a modern security system.
The main reason to build this Soudha is to bring all the important government offices under a single umbrella & to cater space demand at Vidhana Soudha.

Total cost of this building is more than 150 crores.

Builders of Vikasa Soudha: B.G.Shirke Builders.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30 kms ,
From city railway station - 1 kms
From city bus station - 1 kms



Town Hall:

Built in the European-Classical style, this structure was built in honour of K Puttanna Chetty. It has a fairly large auditorium. The Hall is booked almost through out the year with meetings, plays, magic shows, dance and other performances. This Town Hall was opened in 1935 and can accomodate an auidience of 900 people. Town Hall is also an important landmark of Bangalore

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 30.5 kms ,
From city railway station - 1.5 kms
From city bus station - 1.5 kms


Bangalore Palace:

Bangalore Palace, inspired by the Windsor Castle, was built in 1887 AD by Chamaraja Wodeyar in Tudor-style.

Standing in the heart of the city, the palace was earlier surrounded by beautiful gardens in the midst of a vast open area, which has reduced considerably today.

This unique edifice gives the impression of a piece of England's architecture in Bangalore. Largely constructed of wood, the Bangalore Palace is famous for its carving and paintings.

The structure has fortified towers and its interiors boast of elegant woodcarvings and Tudor-style architecture, complete with Gothic windows, battlements and turrets.

An exquisite door panel at the entrance leads to grand settings inside. The interiors have breathtaking floral motifs, cornices, mouldings and relief paintings on its ceiling.

It is said that the construction cost of this exquisite palace was just over Rs 1 lakh. The huge 45,000 sq. feet mansion on which the palace stands was originally owned by Reverend Garret.

The palace ground, located between Jayamahal and Sadashivanagar areas, has now become the venue for various exhibitions, concerts and cultural programmes.


Distance:

From BIAL airport - 35 kms ,
From city railway station - 5 kms
From city bus station - 5 kms



Tippu Sultan Palace:

Within the original citadel, a mudbrick fort built by Kempe Gowda in 1537, lies Tipu Sultan's Palace, dating from about 1790. Made mostly out of wood with finely embellished balconies, Pillars and arches this two-storeyed structure, a replica of the Daria Daulat Bagh in Srirangapattana served as a summer retreat of Tipu sultan. He endearingly called it Rashk-e-Jannat, or the "Envy of Heaven". Although now dilapidated, it is still a hauntingly atmospheric place. While the palace retains the original elegant teak pillars, most of the painted decorations have been destroyed. The palace housed the public administrative offices from 1831, until they were shifted to the Attara Kacheri in 1868.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 35 kms ,
From city railway station - 5 kms
From city bus station - 5 kms

Tippu Devanahalli Fort:

Devanahalli Fort is located 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Bangalore city, at Devanahalli in the State of Karnataka, India.

It was orginally built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda which remained in the hands of his descendants until the mid–seventeenth century. In 1749, the then Dalwai of Mysore, Nanjarajaiah, attacked the fort and occupied it.

Later, the fort passed into the hands of Hyder Ali and subsequently Tipu SultanIn 1791, Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the fort and took possession during the Anglo-Mysore War.

The birth place of Tipu Sultan, also known as Tiger of Mysore, is located near to the fort.The fort is situated on the side of National Highway 7, near to the Bengaluru International Airport.

An Archeological Survey of India (ASI) board outside the fort and at Tipu Sultan's birthplace declares them to be protected.



Distance:

From BIAL airport - 5 kms ,
From city railway station - 35 kms
From city bus station - 35 kms

Tippu Fort - Near K.R.Market:


In the most crowded market area of Bangalore lies the remnants of Tipu's Fort - a silent testament of Tipu's battle against British regime. The fort was constructed during 1781-179 and was the summer residence of Tipu Sultan. It is a two-storied wooden structure, carved out of Teakwood with decorated pillars, concave arches and balconies. Today the fort houses a museum adorned with ancient artifact of Hyder-Tipu regime.

Initially, in 1537 Tipu Sultan's fort was constructed by Kempe Gowda, later on it was expanded by Tipu Sultan. During the battle between East Indian and Hyder Ali - the father of Tipu Sultan, Sultan Hyder imprisoned David Baird along with a number of British army officers in this fort.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 35 kms ,
From city railway station - 5 kms
From city bus station - 5 kms
Bangalore Aquarium:

The Bangalore Aquarium is a diamond shaped building and was opened in 1973. It is situated in Cubbon Park on Kasturba Road. The Bangalore Aquarium is the second largest aquarium in India. The aquarium houses an assortment of alien cultivable fish. It also has ornamental fish.

The aquarium consists of three floors. The first floor has 14 tanks and the second floor has two rows of 69 medium and small tanks. The unique feature of the Aquarium is that it puts up a similar habitat to which the fish is accustomed.

The Aquarium is open to visitors from 10 am to 7.30 pm on all days except Thursdays.

Distance:

From BIAL airport - 32 kms ,
From city railway station - 2 kms
From city bus station - 2 kms
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