Attractions

• Remnants of the old fort
• Delhi Gate
• Ganapathi Temple
• Tipu's wooden palace
• Teak wood carvings in palace
• Balconies, pillars and arches
• Floral patterns on walls and ceilings
• Model of Tipu's Tiger, an auomation toy
• Kote Venkataramana temple adjascent
• Tipu's Armoury nearby

Tipu Sultan's Fort

  was initially built in mud by Kempe Gowda II, (the founder of Bengaluru) a chieftain of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1537. It was converted to a stone fort by Hyder Ali and later extended by his son Tipu Sultan. Between Kempe Godwa and Tipu Sultan the fort changed hands for quite a few times passing through the regimes of the sultans of Bijapur, the Mughals and the Wodeyars of Mysore. Today, the fort is a standing testimony of Tipu's struggle against the Britsh.

Among the many gates that once guarded the Bangalore Fort, only one Delhi Gate exists today near the end of Avenue Road. On the doorway there is a plaque that marks the spot where in Lord Cornwallis and his army broke through during the British assault and captured the fort from Tipu Sultan on on 21 March 1791 during the Third Anglo Mysore War. The fort has a dungeon, where Hyder Ali is said to have imprisoned David Baird and number of other British army officers during his battle with the East India Company. The dungeon is currently closed. Within the fort is a Ganapati Temple that stands as an evidence for Tipu's religious tolerance.

Tipu's Palace

   was built in 1790 and served as a summer retreat of Tipu Sultan. Adjascent to this palace is Kote Venkataramana temple. Construction of the palace was started by Hyder Ali and was later on completed by Tipu Sultan. Tipu had named the palace as “Rash-e-Jannat” meaning the “Envy of Heaven”. Surrounded by gardens, this palace resembles the Daria Daulat Bagh palace in Srirangapatanam. The two storied palace has carved wooden balconies, pillars and arches. The projecting balconies of the palace located at the upper floor contain the seat of state from where Tipu Sultan used to conduct his daily affairs of the state. The floral motifs on walls have faded and peeled over time.

The palace houses a small model of Tipu's Tiger, an interesting automation musical toy specially made for the amusement of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore. The toy depicts a tiger mauling a British soldier and could simulate the roars of a tiger and the cries of a dying soldier. It only shows Tipu's deep hatred for the British Raj. After his death in 1799, the British sent the original life-sized toy is to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. From 1831, The British used Tipu's palace to run its public administrative offices. When it grew manifold the offices were shifted to Attara Kacheri in 1868.