TIPU SULTAN'S SUMMER PALACE & FORT

Tipu Sultan's Palace is one of the most visited monuments in Bangalore. Sultan Tipu inherited the throne of Mysore from his father Haider Ali in 1782. His empire extended from the Krishna River in the north, the Eastern Ghats in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. As early as 1782, he began construction of a summer palace inside the fort at Bangalore, which was delivered in 1791. It was a modest two-story wooden structure supported by magnificent teak pillars. The palace has suffered many outrages, especially when it was used as offices for the Indian administration, and only a small section remains today. Within it is the darbar hall, or throne room, where Tipu received his court when he occupied his palace. Tipu himself saw to the construction of the throne, which was covered with gold leaf and inlaid with emeralds. It was so valuable that the British divided it into several parts when it was sold after Tipu's death in 1799.

The small rooms on the first floor have been transformed into a museum. On the second floor, one can still admire some of the beautiful frescoes that decorated the palace. A little further up the street, you will come across what remains of the Bangalore fort, which was built in 1537. Originally it was made of clay. Haider Ali replaced it with a stone fort in 1761 and it became one of Tipu's headquarters, before falling to the British in 1791.