Falaknuma Palace

Falaknuma Palace ఫలకునుమా ప్యాలస్ فلک نما محل
Falaknuma Palace northern view
General information
Architectural style	Andrea Palladio
Location	Hyderabad, India
Coordinates	17°19′50″N 78°28′03″E / 17.3305°N 78.4675°E / 17.3305; 78.4675
Construction started	3 March 1884 H.E. Nawab Sir Vicar ul Umra laid the foundation stone.
Completed	1893
Opening	2010 (as a hotel) 1893 (as a palace)
Cost	40 lakhs
Owner	Nawab Sir Vikar ul Umra, Amir-e-Paigah (1884 to 1897) and later, The Nizam of Hyderabad
Management	Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Technical details
Size	93,971 m2 (1,011,500 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	William Ward Marrett.

Falaknuma is a palace in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It belonged to the Paigah family, and it was later owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is on a 32-acre (13 ha) area in Falaknuma, 5 km from Charminar. It was built by Nawab Vikar-ul-Umra, prime minister of Hyderabad and the uncle and brother-in-law of the Nizam VI, Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Bahadur. Falak-numa means "Like the Sky" or "Mirror of the Sky" in Urdu.

An English architect designed the palace. The foundation stone for the construction was laid by Sir Vicar on 3 March 1884; he was the maternal grandson of H.H. Sikandar Jah Bahadur, Nizam lll of Hyderabad. It took nine years to complete the construction and furnish the palace. Sir Vicar moved into the Gol Bangla and Zanana Mahel of the Falaknuma Palace in December 1890 and closely monitored the finishing work at the Mardana portion. It is made completely with Italian marble with stained-glass windows and covers an area of 1,011,500 square feet.

The palace was built in the shape of a scorpion with two stings spread out as wings in the north. The middle part is occupied by the main building and the kitchen, Gol Bangla, Zenana Mehal, and harem quarters stretch to the south. The Nawab was an avid traveler, and his influences show in the architecture, which combines Italian and Tudor influences.

Viqar-ul-Umra, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, used the palace as his private residence until the palace was handed over to the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad around 1897-1898. His monogram is on the furniture, walls and ceiling of the palace.

The palace was built and furnished at a cost of forty lakh rupees, which necessitated borrowing money from the Bank of Bengal. In the spring of 1897 Mehboob Ali Pasha Nizam VI was invited to the palace and extended his stay to a week, a fortnight, and then a month, which prompted Sir Viqar to offer it to him. The Nizam accepted but paid some of the value of the palace; the Paigah family maintains that around 20 lakh rupees was paid. The Nizam used the palace as a royal guest house.

The Falaknuma fell into disuse after the 1950s. The last important guest was the President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, in 1951. The palace was then restored after being leased by the Taj Group of Hotels; the restoration, which began in 2010, was managed by H.H Princess Esra Jah, the first wife of H.E.H The VIlIth Nizam of Hyderabad.