Deeg Palace

Deeg Palace is a palace 32 km from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India built in 1772 as a luxurious summer resort for the rulers of Bharatpur State. The palace was in active use till the early 1970s.History and architectureDeeg was the capital of the Jat kings before they shifted to Bharatpur. Badan Singh, who came to the throne in 1721, built a palace here. Due to its strategic location and proximity to Agra, Deeg had to face repeated attacks by invaders. His son, prince Suraj Mal, began the construction of a fortress around the palace around 1730. The fort had massive walls and a deep moat to keep away raiders.Deeg was a site of a legendary battle between the Jats and a combined Mughal and Maratha army of 8,000 men. Emboldened by his victory, Suraj Mal began making forays into enemy territory. After eight years of success in his forays, Suraj Mal captured Delhi and plundered the Red Fort carrying away masses of valuables including an entire marble building, which was dismantled and numbered. The palace was then reconstructed at Deeg.The Jat rulers were influenced by the magnificence of the Mughal courts of Agra and Delhi. The design of the gardens has been inspired by the Mughal Charbagh. The palace forms a quadrangle with a garden and walkways at its centre. Decorative flowerbeds, shrubs, trees and fountains cool the place considerably during summer. Two huge water tanks, Gopal Sagar and Rup Sagar, on either side also helped to bring down the temperature.Elaborately filigreed gates, stone slabs, ornate beams, and marble jaalis from Mughal constructions have been used in the palace. A fine marble swing, rumoured to have belonged to Nur Jahan, was brought as a war trophy from the Mughal court. The swing overlooks the gardens.