Thirumalai Nayak Mahal

About 1.5km from the Madurai Meenakshi Temple is Thirumalai Nayak Mahal, an Architectural marvel built in the year 1636 by King Thirumalai Nayak. One of the major tourist spots in the temple city, Madurai, the palace attracts around1,000 tourists a day during the seasons November to March. 

This Indo-Saracenic palace was built by Thirumalai Nayak with the help of an Italian Architect and was completed after 6 years in April 1636. The palace housed the District Sessions Courts of Madurai and Ramanathapuram till 1971, when it was handed over to the Archaeology department and declared a protected monument. The palace was demolished by his grandson, Chockanatha Nayak, who ruled Madurai from 1662 to 82 and the valuables like jewels, woodcarvings etc were shifted in order to build his own palace at Trichy (but his dream was never realised).

The palace originally consisted of two sections, plus a theatre, private temple, harem, bandstand, armoury and gardens. Today, only the entrance gate, an open courtyard, around which ran a roofed arcade supported by tall stone pillar and the dance hall remain, but these are well worth seeing. The palace was partially restored little by Madras Governor Lord Napier in 1866 -72 and further renovation was carried out several years ago. 

The palace is a 20 minute walk from the Madurai Meenakshi Temple and the entrance is on the eastern side.

Considered as one of the finest secular buildings in South India, the original palace complex, was four times bigger than the present structure. The courtyard, dancing hall and massive stone pillars are the major attractions of the palace. Thirumalai Nayak Mahal consists mainly of two parts, namely Swargavilasa (Celestial Pavilion) a rectangular pillared courtyard and Rangavilasa. These parts consists of the royal residence, a theatre, a shrine, apartments or quarters, armory, palanquin place, a royal bandstand, a pond and a garden.