The restored Durbar Hall in the City Palace complex is one of India’s most impressive, vast and lavish, with some of the country’s biggest chandeliers. The walls display royal weapons and striking portraits of former maharanas of Mewar – a most distinguished-looking lot, who come from what is believed to be the oldest ruling dynasty in the world, spanning 76 generations. The Durbar Hall is included in visits to the Crystal Gallery and you will also see it if you go to the Gallery Restaurant .
Many palaces in India have a durbar hall (royal reception hall). Usually the grandest room in the place, with a respectable amount of chandeliers and gilt overlay, the durbar hall was dressed to impress and used by Indian rulers for meetings and official occasions, such as state banquets.
The foundation stone of the hall was laid in 1909 by Lord Minto, the viceroy of India, during the reign of Maharana Fateh Singh, and it was originally named Minto Hall. The upper level of this high-ceilinged hall is surrounded by viewing galleries, where ladies of the palace could watch in veiled seclusion what was happening below. Nowadays, these halls are the Crystal Gallery.
The hall still has the capacity to hold hundreds of people and can even be hired for conferences or social gatherings.
