Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace is one of the famous palaces of the Mysore city. This royal structure is situated to the west of Kote Venkataramana Temple. Hydar Ali started the construction of this palace, which was completed by his son Tipu Sultan in 1791. This palace was exclusively built to run the durbar, which would deal with the happenings in the territory. Most of the palaces were stone or brick made, but this unique structure was completely built of wood so commonly known as Wooden Palace. Everything used to construct palace, right from its delicately carved pillars, its beams and ceiling is in wood.
The palace has gardens on the either side with fountains in front to keep the air cool. Fountains are no longer present. There are eastern and western balconies, from where Tipu Sultan conducted the territory affairs. These are wonderfully carved and are raised on small pillars. The palace was originally enclosed in a mud fortress, which was built in 17th century by Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar. The structure is built using the Mughal style of architecture, which resembles the Durbar Hall of Akbar at Allahabad. This architecture is a merger of Saracenic and Indian styles. The main floor of the Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace is small but artistically decorated. The tall traditional Indian style carved wooden pillars touching the first floor ceiling look like eight petalled lotus.
The walls and roofs of the Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace is covered with floral painting decorations. The upper floor comprises of the four halls, each with two balconies for the prince. All the ends of the court have balconies for the officer of the highest rank. In a small room on the ground floor, some pictures of Hydar Ali Khan, Tipu Sultan and his sons are displayed.
Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace is a beautiful wooden structure, reflecting history and heritage, and tourists visiting Mysore must make it a point to visit this grand palace to have a wonderful date with history.
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