Albert Hall Museum

Albert Hall Museum is the oldest museum in Rajasthan. Built in 1876, it was initially envisioned to be a concert hall and resembles the architecture of the Victoria and Albert Hall Museum in London, hence, the name. It is a standing example of the Indo-Saracenic architecture and is also known as Government Central Museum. Albert Hall Museum has an extensive collection of artefacts brought from the different regions of the world that are divided over a whopping 16 art galleries! The museum takes on a whole new facade as the night falls and the entire building glows with yellow lights, which looks extremely beautiful. You can relax in the gardens with the stunning view of Albert Hall in the backdrop. It is certainly a great place to get a peek into the history and ancient culture of India.

Flanked by lush green gardens, the foundation of Albert Hall was laid on 6 February 1876 when Albert Edward visited India. The galleries of the museum have a collection of antiques and artefacts from the past that will blow away your mind. The ancient coins, marble art, pottery, carpets and especially the Egyptian mummy are a treat to the eyes of history buffs. The building itself from the outside has an alluring architecture. The Indo - Saracenic inspired domes and intricately carved arches constructed from sandstone is mesmerizing.

History of Albert Hall Museum
The foundation of Albert Hall was laid during the visit of the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward to Jaipur in 1876. It was not sure how the building would be used. On the suggestion of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II in 1880, a temporary museum was built in 1881 to display the products of local craftsmen. The Albert Hall was completed in 1887 by the architect, Samuel Swinton Jacob, Director of Jaipur PWD. The temporary museum, whose artefacts were collected from several parts of India and its neighbours were shifted in the new museum. The building became a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The corridors were decorated with murals in a variety of styles and European, Egyptian, Chinese, Greek and Babylonian civilizations were portrayed to enable the visitors to develop their knowledge of art and history. Thus, Albert Hall became a centre for imparting knowledge of the history of civilizations, inspiring artisans to enhance their skills and preserving & developing traditional Indian arts, crafts and architectural forms.

Architecture
Featuring Indo-Saracenic architecture and stone ornamentation, Albert Hall Museum became an iconic structure soon after its completion. Also, it became a great source of reference for varied classical Indian styles of design and architecture which came from Mughal to Rajput eras. The corridors of the museum are decorated with murals in different styles. The museum has paintings from illustrations in the Persian Razmnama which were especially prepared for Emperor Akbar. In most of the murals, Chinese, European, Egyptian, Greek and Babylonian civilizations have been portrayed. There are a number of archways, courtyards and towers in the museum, which speak much about the rich architectural heritage of the country. There are many miniature paintings and portraits of the royal kings displayed in the museum.

How to Reach Albert Hall Museum
By Air– Delhi and Mumbai are the two main gateway cities to Rajasthan from international destinations. There are regular flights connecting Delhi and Mumbai to Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan and also important destinations like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai operated by domestic carriers.
By Train– Daily super fast train connects Mumbai to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Kota. Delhi (the nearest rail head to Jaipur) is also directly connected to Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur, Kota, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Shatabdi train operates from New Delhi station to Ajmer via Jaipur. Double decker train is also available between Jaipur and Delhi.
By Road– The Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Kashmiri Gate, New Delhi has almost a twenty – four hour bus service to Jaipur. Air-conditioned and Volvo bus service of state owned Rajasthan state Roadways Transport Corporation (RSRTC) to Jaipur is operational from the premises of Bikaner House, Pandara Road.