Jaipur : Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. The Pink City of Jaipur is known for its vibrant culture. While Jaipur’s famous tourist attractions like Amer Fort and Hawa Mahal are very famous, most tourists do not know about the Albert Hall Museum. The 135-year-old museum is located in the Ram Niwas Garden and is less than a 10-minute walk from the Hawa Mahal.
The Albert Hall Museum is named after King Edward VII aka Albert Edward. The foundation stone of the building was laid during his visit to India in 1876.
If you love carefully crafted old things, then you must visit the Albert Hall Museum. History lovers will love the serene collection of artifacts here. One of the oldest museums in the country, the Albert Hall Museum perfectly encapsulates the rich heritage of Jaipur.
The Albert Hall Museum was opened to the public as a museum in 1887 and has remarkable architecture.
The grand architecture of the museum is a delight to the eyes as it is built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The museum was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob under the rule of Maharaja Ram Singh, who wanted the structure to be used as a town hall. However, Madho Singh II converted it into a museum to preserve the priceless art.
Now the historic museum houses some of the finest works of art including paintings, artifacts, jewellery, carpets and sculptures made of metal, stone and ivory.
The museum also houses coins that date back to the Gupta, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and the British. Numismatics enthusiasts will find the collection of coins at the Albert Hall Museum fascinating.
Interestingly, the Albert Hall Museum is one of the six places in India where you can see an Egyptian mummy. The museum houses a 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy that was first brought to India in 1883. The mummy was gifted to Sawai Ishwar Singh, the ruler of Jaipur at the time, by the curator of the Cairo Museum.
The other five places where you can see Egyptian mummies include the Indian Museum in Kolkata, YS Rajasekhara Reddy State Museum in Hyderabad, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, State Museum, Lucknow and Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vadodara.
