Mysore(Mysooru) is the cultural capital of karnataka. The palaces which were built for the kings and their families were not only for pleasure but they are glowing with artistic beauty, hence they attract people from all the parts of the world.
Some of the Palaces have now become attraction for visitors, some of them are government offices and some are hotels, and university office. Some of them are Mysore(Mysooru) Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Jayalakshmi Vilasa, Lalitha Mahal etc.,

Mysore(Mysooru) PALACE

History of Mysore(Mysooru) Palace
It has been written in "Shrimanmaharaja's Vamshaavali" that kings of Mysore(Mysooru) were living in one palace in Mysore(Mysooru) in 14th Century. After this palace was destroyed by lightning. in AD 1638, it was re-constructed by "Ranadheera Kantheerava Narasaraja wodeyar". This is the oldest accurate information available regarding the Mysore(Mysooru) palace. It is known from history that palaces like "Soundarya Vilasa", "Naama Teertha" etc and 11 canons were placed in the palaces in different places.

It is said that in 1793 inorder to build a new city called as "Nazarabad", Tippu Sultan demolished all the old buildings including the palace except temples. In 1799 during the throning ceremony of the prince due to unavailablity of the palace the ceremony took place in Nazarabad under a pandal. This information has been clearly written by a english officer.

For this reason due to the requirement of a palace, a new palace was built in hindu architectural style during 1800-1803. Because the palace was built in a very small duration of 2 years by the end of 19th Centuary, it was in a bad condition and some of the parts started crumbling. Also in 1897 during the wedding ceremony of princess Jayalakshmmanni most of the parts of the palace were burnt down by fire. Hence inorder to bring back the glory of the Mysore(Mysooru) palace the queen, then representative of the kings family thought of building new palace which would be similar to the old palace. She inagurated the building of the new temple in October 1897.

JAGANMOHAN PALACE

This palace is towards the western part of the famous Mysore(Mysooru) palace and at a walkable distance. Until the completion of the main palace auditorium in 1912 all the annual day and dasara festival celebration were taking place here. There is beautiful and artistic mantap in front of this palace. Wedding ceremony of "Naalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeya" and "Shri Kantheerava Narasimharaja Wodeyar" took place in this palace.This palace was built by "Krishnaraja Wodeyar the third ".
The crowning ceremony of "Krishnaraja Wodeyar the fourth" also took place here in 1902. This place was used for staying of royal family until the new palace was built and it was used for entertainment afterwards. Now this is a famous art gallary which consists of paintings by famous indian painter "Raja Ravivarma". The large auditorium is used for major cultural events in Mysore(Mysooru).

JAYALAKSHMI VILASA

This is now the administrative office of University of Mysore(Mysooru) (UOM) and folklore museum. It was built in 1901 by then king of Mysore(Mysooru) "Chamaraja Wodeyar" for his elder daughter.

This palace is to the western side of "Kukkara Halli Lake" and located approximately 4 KM from Mysore(Mysooru) palace.

LALITHA MAHAL

This is second in size, beauty and famous among the palaces. The foundation stone was laid in November 18, 1921 by "Krishnaraja Wodeyar the fourth". This palace gets its beauty by the chamundi hill to its backside and is located towards east of Mysore(Mysooru) city. The palace is eyecatching by its whiteness which comes from the granite stone brought from italy for the construction.

Now this palace is a five star hotel and attracts VIPs and tourists from foreign countries and rich people!.

VASANTHA MAHAL

This palace was built in 1842 and used as "Special School" for young prince's. The palace is built in 36 acres sorrounded by gardens. The speciality of this palace is that the facing portions of the palace is made of soft iron. After entering the palace we can see a large verandah. The first floor resembles the ground floor. This building looks beautiful and artistic. This palace was a hotel for a long time and currently locked for visitors.

LOKARANJAN MAHAL

Built in 1880, this palace was school for "Chamaraja Wodeyar", "Krishnaraja Wodeyar", and young prince's. This is also called as summer palace. A swimming pool has been built in a modern style and joining to this palace is the zoo garden.

CHELUVAMBA VILASA

This palace was built for the third princess during 1910-11 and is beautiful to view. The dome atop the palace add to the beauty of the palace. This palace is now the famous CFTRI (Central Food Technology and Research Institute) and is in very good condition.