Thuckalay, Padmanabhapuram • Tamil Nadu, India

Thuckalay

The small town of Thuckhalay is located at the southernmost tip of India, in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Padmanabhapuram palace

Padmanabhapuram Palace is located near the city and was the capital of the ancient Indian state of Travancore. According to some sources, the first palace of the King of Travancore was destroyed by Raja Raja Chola, the king who had the magnificent temples of Thanjavur built at the very beginning of the 11th century. If we are not sure of this information, it is a fact that the palace that we can admire today is more recent. It dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, and while its foundations are based on large blocks of granite, the palace itself is made of wood.

Although located in the state of Tamil Nadu, this palace is maintained by the neighboring state of Kerala to which it belongs.

This palace is a masterpiece of traditional Kerala architecture.

Its location was not chosen at random. As a royal residence and a military fort, the palace had to be able to defend the region which is full of fertile land. The surrounding hills form a significant natural defense.

In 1809, the British seized the fort of Padmanabhapuram, causing the departure of the king of Travancore to a safer place, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), which gradually caused the decline of Padmanabhapuram which has now become a suburb. by Thuckalay.

Until 1839, the palace hosted the Navarathri festival, an important Hindu festival symbolizing feminine energy and which lasts 9 nights and 10 days. After this date, the palace declined rapidly and was permanently closed, and local beliefs gave it the status of a haunted palace, which hastened its fall into disuse.

It was not until 1934 that this palace, which was the largest wooden palace in Asia for 4 centuries, did not regain some of its past splendor.

It is nowadays one of the main tourist attractions in the region and remains one of the most beautiful wooden palaces in the world.

about the place, Thuckalay:

Thuckalay is a town in Tamil Nadu which was once the capital of the historic Indian state Travancore. Although having lost its status as capital, Thuckalay remains a major city in the region.

The Padmanabhapuram Palace built in the 18th century is remarkable and is an example of the architectural style of Travancore.

 

Spoken comments in the film: 

The Maharajah of Travancore built this magnificent wooden palace in the 16th century. The palace is known as the Padmanabhapuram palace. It was the power center of the Kings of Travancore until 1790, when the capital was transferred to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).