Queen Victoria Memorial

Kolkata's (Calcutta's) Victoria Memorial was constructed to commemorate Queen Victoria after her death in 1901. The complex is home to art galleries, museums, a library, and extensive public gardens.
Built entirely of white marble, Victoria Memorial, one of India's most beautiful monuments, represent a unique combination of classical European architecture and Mughal motifs. The domed and white marble museum sprawls over 64 acres and is set in a landscaped garden at the southern side of the Kolkata's maidan (ground) near Jawaharlal Nehru Road.Set amid 64 acres of lawns, fountains, and herbaceous borders this greatest symbol of the British, houses artifacts illustrating British roots in India. The building covers an area of 103.02m by 69.49m.196080cft of Makrana marble was brought from Jodhpur, Rajasthan for its construction. It has been calculated that a goods train about 27 km long would be required to bring the entire building materials needed for the memorial. Statues of former British rulers sculpted by Italian craftsmen that used to adorn street corners all the way along Chowringhee and the Maidan, are now scattered around the large garden of the monument. The memorial is famous for its exhibits of Indian and Western Paintings, manuscripts, postage stamps, Mughal miniatures, books that dates back to the 1870's, statues and sculptures, arms and armaments, sketches and other objects of historic value in its Museum and Art Gallery. Today it is one of the main attraction for tourists in Kolkatta. Here, on weekends, people picnic, families meet, and transiting pilgrims bring flowers to the statue of "Maharani Victoria". Two regular sound and light shows both in English and Bengali are held in the evening. The memorial is open from 1000 am to 1700pm on all weekdays except on Mondays and public holidays. For Indians the entry fee to the museum is Rs.10/-For all foreigners the entry fee to the museum is Rs.150/-. The Memorial is an autonomous body governed by a Board of Trustees with the Governor of West Bengal as the Chairperson, and is under the 'administrative control' of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.