Cooch Behar Palace, also called the Victor Jubilee Palace, is a landmark in Cooch Behar

Cooch Behar

Cooch Behar is the district headquarters and the largest city of Cooch Behar District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas and located at . Cooch Behar is the only planned town in North Bengal region with remnants of royal heritage...

 city, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. It was designed on the model of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan.

The Cooch Behar Palace, noted for its elegance and grandeur, is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India

Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...

. It is a brick-built double-storey structure in the classical Western style covering an area of 51309 square feet (4,766.8 m²). The whole structure is 395 feet (120.4 m) long and 296 feet (90.2 m) wide and is on rests 4 in 9 in (1.45 m) above the ground. The Palace is fronted on the ground and first floors by a series of arcaded verandah

Verandah

A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...

s with their piers arranged alternately in single and double rows. At the southern and northern ends, the Palace projects slightly and in the centre is a projected porch providing an entrance to the Durbar Hall

Durbar Hall

Durbar Hall is a place where Indian Kings had their formal and informal meetings. The famous ones belonged to Great Emperors and Kings. In the North, places like Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaiselmer, Agra have palaces that adorn such magnificent halls. The Mughal Emperor Akbar had two halls; one for...

. The Hall has an elegantly shaped metal dome which is topped by a cylindrical louvre type ventilator. This is 124 feet (37.8 m) high from the ground and is in the style of the Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

. The intrados of the dome is carved in stepped patterns and Corinthian columns support the base of the cupola. This adds variegated colours and designs to the entire surface. There are various halls in the palace and rooms that include the Dressing Room, Bed Room, Drawing Room, Dining Hall, Billiard hall, Library, Toshakhana

Toshakhana

Toshakhana is a word of Persian or Sanskrit origin that literally translates into "treasure-house".In India, a toshakhana is a place where princes store "gifts and emblems of honor that they received for their posterity .....

, Ladies Gallery and Vestibules. The articles and precious objects that these rooms and halls used to contain are now lost.