Raj Bhavan (West Bengal)

Raj Bhavan রাজভবন
Raj Bhavan from North Gate
General information
Construction started	1799
Completed	1803
Cost	63,291 pounds
Owner	Government of West Bengal
Technical details
Floor area	84,000 sq. ft
Design and construction
Architect	Charles Wyatt
Other information
Number of rooms	60

Raj Bhavan (Bengali: রাজ ভবন) is the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal, located in the state' capital city Kolkata. Built in 1803, it was known as Government House in the pre-independence days.

Later after the transfer of power from the East India Company to the British Crown in 1858 it became the official residence of the Viceroy of India, shifting here from the Belvedere Estate. With the shifting of capital to Delhi in 1911 it became the official residence of Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Since independence in 1947 it serves as the official residence of the Governor of West Bengal and came to be known as the Raj Bhavan, a name it shares with the .

In the early nineteenth century Calcutta (Kolkata) was at the height of its golden age. Known as the City of Palaces or St. Petersburg of the East, Calcutta was the richest, largest and the most elegant colonial cities of India. It was during this time that one of Calcutta's finest colonial structures, Government House (later Raj Bhavan), was constructed.

Before 1799, the Governor-General resided in a rented house, called Bukimham House, located in the same location. The land belonged to Mohammad Reza Khan, a Nawab of Chitpur. It was in 1799 that the then Governor-General of India, The 1st Marquess Wellesley, took the initiative of building a palace, because he believed that India should be ruled from a palace and not from a country house. Lord Wellesley wanted to make a statement to the imperial authority and power and so the building was done on a grand scale.

After 4 years construction it was completed at a colossal cost of £63,291 (about £3.8 million in today’s estimate). Wellesley was charged for misusing of East India Company’s fund and was finally recalled back to England in 1805. Although Wellesley lost his job, he does have the credit of giving Kolkata one of its finest colonial mansions.