Nargona Palace is situated at Darbhanga

Darbhanga

Darbhangā is a twin city and a municipal corporation and the capital city of the Darbhanga district and Darbhanga Division in the state of Bihar, India. It is one of the most important districts of North Bihar situated in the very heart of Mithilanchal. According to the latest 2011 census, the...

 in State of Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. This Palace was the last palace to be built in Raj Darbhanga

Raj Darbhanga

Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Royal Family of Darbhanga, were a family of Zamindars and rulers of territories that are now part of Mithila and Darbhanga district, Bihar, India. Their seat was at the city of Darbhanga...

.

History

The city of Darbhanga was one of the major cities to be destroyed in killer earthquake of 1934 that rocked northern part of Bihar. Almost the entire city had been destroyed. The Palaces in Darbhanga also suffered major damage. Moti Mahal Palace was entirely destroyed in earthquake. Anand Bagh Palace

Anand Bagh Palace

Anand Bagh Palace is situated in town of Darbhanga in State of Bihar, India. Anand Bagh Palace was constructed during the reign of Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh in the 1880s...

 and Ram Bag Palace were severely damaged and were rebuilt after the earthquake. Maharaja Kameshwar Singh of Darbhanga then decided to build a new Palace with the best earthquake resistant technology available at that time. The Palace incorporated the best earthquake resistant features when built and its ability to withstand earthquake was demonstrated in 1988 when another earthquake

1988 Bihar earthquake

1988 Nepal earthquake occurred in 1988 in Nepal near the Indian border, affecting much of northern Bihar.The magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook the region on August 21, 1988, killing about 1004 persons and injuring more than 16,000....

 rocked Bihar. It is probably the first building in India to incorporate earthquake resistant technology.

Architectural Style

The palace is a simple looking building with no outstanding features. The thrust being on building's ability to withstand major earthquake, no unnecessary features to beautify the building were added. A first time visitor, expecting to see a beautiful looking Palace, would be greatly disappointed in looking at a plain but massive building.

Present Status

The Palace along with its surrounding garden, orchards, etc. as well as Head Office building of Raj Darbhanga

Raj Darbhanga

Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Royal Family of Darbhanga, were a family of Zamindars and rulers of territories that are now part of Mithila and Darbhanga district, Bihar, India. Their seat was at the city of Darbhanga...

was donated in 1972 to Government of Bihar for establishing a University. Now Lalit Narayan Mithila University is beneficiary of donation and functions from these buildings.