Thanjavur Maratha Palace – Raja Serfoji Memorial Hall
The
Sardar Mahal is more than 175 years old and is situated north to the Krishna
Vilas Tank, which is now closed. This hall was the residential palace of
King Serfoji and his descendants. Performing arts like drama, dance,
music and other art forms were performed at the Sadar Mahal Palace. Proof
of this is evident from the Marathi Modi documents in the Saraswati Mahal
library.
The
eighth World Tamil Conference gave a new lease of life to these
Mahals, which are now preserved by the Department of Archaeology, State
Government of Tamilnadu. The arts and artefacts collected by King Serfoji
are displayed in the erstwhile Residential palace of Serfoji.
This was
opened to the public on 12th October 1997. This was done with the
aim of showcasing the contribution of the Maratha kings to Thanjavur and to
South Indian culture and literature and also to make the general public aware
of their history.
The
Palace was named Rajah Serfoji’ s Memorial Hall in 1997 and was
registered as a trust with Srimant Tulajendra Raja P Bhosle, a
descendant of Rajah Serfoji. The hall was restructured and repainted; it
originally had some stucco work on the upper borders of the wall. On display
are household articles, costumes, gold and silver ware, armouries, earthenware,
manuscripts, wooden and ivory objects, various kinds of paintings like oil,
water colour and so on.
A small
garden has been developed at the place where the Krishna Vilas Tank stood. A
secret underground passage located on eastern side of the Sardar Mahal, which
was in use till 1855 before being closed has also been reopened to the
public. Few artifacts, paintings and coins, which were collected or
used by Serfoji II, are displayed in this section of the palace.
Entry
Fees & Timings
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Timing
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Entrance fee
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Phone Number
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Holiday
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9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
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Adult Rs.2.00,
Child Rs.1.00.
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+91 – 4362 – 235268
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No holiday
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