Kaiser Mahal

Kaiser Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located west of the Narayanhity Palace, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings.

Kaiser Mahal
Kaiser Mahal in 2018.
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical architecture and European styles of architecture
Town or city	Kathmandu
Country	Nepal
Cost	Unknown
Client	Chandra Shumsher JBR
Technical details
Structural system	Brick and Mortar
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Kumar Narasingh Rana and Kishor Narasingh Rana

View from the garden

History

Bricks used in Kaiser Mahal with Nepali letters "Keshar"

The palace complex lay in the heart of Kathmandu, to the west of the Narayanhity Palace.^[1][2] Later Jeet Shumsher sold his palace to Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, who then destroyed the old palace and build a new palace in 1895 for his son Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana^[3] These unique and impressive Edwardian features earned it the name "Garden of Dreams."^[4]

Under Government of Nepal

After the fall of the Rana regime, Kaiser Mahal was occupied and owned by Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. It was sold to government of Nepal.^[3] It is currently occupied by Kaiser library, and Sampati Suddhikaran Aayog.^[5]

Earthquake 2015

This palace was partially damaged during the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Kaiser Mahal was designated safe and received a yellow sticker, with further recovery efforts required for the books and artifacts.^[6]

Retrofitting

After earthquake, Kaiser Mahal underwent extensive retrofitting to preserve its historical architecture while upgrading the structure to meet modern safety standards. This retrofitting process was crucial to ensuring the building's resilience against seismic activity and to accommodate contemporary utilities. Following the completion of these renovations, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) was relocated to Kaiser Mahal in June 2024, making the building fully operational as a government office.^[7]

See also

• Babarmahal Revisited
• Thapathali Durbar
• Garden of Dreams
• Rana palaces of Nepal

References

1. "THE HISTORIC DURBARS OF KATHMANDU". 19 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
2. "A Time to Build, Maharajah Bir's Legacy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
3. JBR, PurushottamShamsher (2007). Ranakalin Pramukh Atihasik Darbarharu [Chief Historical Palaces of the Rana Era] (in Nepali). Vidarthi Pustak Bhandar. ISBN 978-9994611027.
4. "The Garden's of Dream: Kaiser Mahal Kathmandu | Welcome to Naturally Nepal". Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "My City | Photo blog from Nepali Times » Blog Archive » Rana palaces after the earthquake". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
7. "Public Procurement Monitoring Office". ppmo.gov.np. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.