Murshidabad — the historical city of West Bengal
Murshidabad is one of the historic city of West Bengal and is also one of the most visited places in West Bengal. A visit to this historical place in West Bengal will take you to the era of Mughal and British rule in India. You can read this article to get more information about this wonderful place.
Murshidabad was founded by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, the Dewan of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was situated on the banks of Bhagirathi River. The city also had its importance during British rule. It was also the capital of Bengal in 1717. The British then shifted the capital to Kolkata in 1773. The headquarter town of Murshidabad is located in Berhampore. This city holds the distinction of having century old monuments, places, and mosques.How to reach Murshidabad, West Bengal
By Rail : Berhampore Court is the main station there. We can get there by taking trains like Bhagirati Express or Lalgola Passenger from Sealdah Station in Kolkata.
It will take nearly 5 to 6 hrs to reach there by rail route.
By Road : Buses go frequently from Kolkata to Berhampore. You can get them from Esplanade.
Buses are also available on regular basis from Rampurhat, Suri, Bolpur, Malda, and Krishnanagar to Berhampore.
By Air : the nearest airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata. Murshidabad is just 182km from Kolkata. Places to visit at Murshidabad, West Bengal
There are a number of monuments, places and mosques to visit in Murshidabad, which are the prime attractions of this historic town.
Hazarduari Palace of Murshidabad
Duncan McLeod of Bengal Engineers constructed this palace for the Nawabs in the year 1837. This palace was built in European architectural style covering a total area of 48 acres. The main attraction of this palace is that it comprises of 1000 doors, 114 rooms, and 8 galleries. This palace is now a museum with a huge collection of splendid paintings, exhaustive portraits of Nawabs, beautiful ivory works etc. it has also one library which consist of more than 10,000 books, including some Korans.
Katra Mosque, Murshidabad, West Bengal
It is a huge and impressive mosque which was built in the year 1724 by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan on the same lines as that of the Great Mosque at Mecca. It is about one and half km from Murshidabad Railway Station on the Berhampore-Lalgola Road. This gorgeous building has huge domes and high minarets and also has a simple cemetery of the Nawab below the front staircase.
Kathgola palace garden in Murshidabad, Bengal
It is the palace garden of Raja Dhanpat Singh Dugar and Lakshmipat Singh Dugar. It has a famous Adinath Temple, which was built in the year 1873 by Harreck Chand. It is about half a km from South East of Mahimpur. It is beautiful temple with a admirable work of Jain Style of ornamentation. This famous temple belongs to Jainism and is visited by hundred of tourists everyday.
Motijheel lake in Murshidabad, West Bengal
Motijheel is a lake situated 3km from Hazarduari. This lake stands in front of a beautiful three-storied palace. This wonderful lake is also a must see place in Murshidabad.
Wasef Manzil at Murshidabad
Sir Wasef Ali Mirza, Nawab of Murshidabad, built this palace. The staircases of this palace are made of marble and beautiful statues of this palace are worth seeing.
Imambara, Murshidabad
Nizamat Imambara was built in 1847 A.D. by Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan. This Imambara, which is the largest in Bengal, is a prime tourist attraction of Murshidabad.
Murshidabad is also famous for its silk, which are of great demand in making sarees and scarves.
