City Palace, Udaipur

City Palace, Udaipur
Location within Rajasthan
General information
Architectural style	Rajput Architecture
Town or city	Udaipur
Country	India
Coordinates	24°34′34″N 73°40′59″E / 24.576°N 73.683°E / 24.576; 73.683
Construction started	1559
Completed	16th century
Technical details
Structural system	Marble and masonry

City Palace, Udaipur, is a palace complex situated in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan. It was built over a period of nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Construction began in 1553, started by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Rajput family as he shifted his capital from the erstwhile Chittor to the new found city of Udaipur. The palace is located on the east bank of Lake Pichola and has several palaces built within its complex.

The City Palace in Udaipur was built in a flamboyant style and is considered the largest of its type in the state of Rajasthan. It was built atop a hill, in a fusion of the Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles, providing a panoramic view of the city and its surroundings. Overlooking Lake Pichola, several historic monuments like the Lake Palace, Jag Mandir, Jagdish Temple, Monsoon Palace, and Neemach Mata temple, are all in the vicinity of the palace complex. Nestled within the Aravali mountain range, these landmarks are associated in popular culture with the filming of the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy.

The City Palace was built concurrently with the establishment of the Udaipur city by Maharana Udai Singh II and his successor Maharanas over a period of the next 400 years.The Maharanas lived and administered their kingdom from this palace, thereby making the palace complex an important historic landmark.

The Mewar kingdom had flourished initially in Nagda (30 kilometres (19 mi) to the north of Udaipur), established in 568 AD by Guhil, the first Maharana of Mewar. In the 8th century, the capital was moved to Chittor, a hill top fort from where the Sisodias ruled for 80 years. Maharana Uday Singh II inherited the Mewar kingdom at Chittor in 1537 but by that time there were signs of losing control of the fort in wars with the Mughals. Udai Singh II, therefore, chose the site near Lake Pichola for his new kingdom as the location was well protected on all sides by forests, lakes and the Aravalli hills. He had chosen this site for his new capital, much before the sacking of Chittor by Emperor Akbar, on the advice of a hermit he had met during one of his hunting expeditions.