Victoria Memorial

The Victoria Memorial is a large memorial building in Kolkata, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria – the Queen of the (then) United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.

The whole premises are now turned into a museum and is one of the most famous monuments from the British Era in India. It is also a reminder of the Kolkata city’s colonial and architectural heritage.

Victoria Memorial is a memorial dedicated to queen Victoria and was built after her death, which was also during the British rule in India, as suggested by Lord Curzon. The foundation for this memorial was laid by George V, the (then) Prince of Wales in 1906 in Kolkata (which was then called Calcutta, and was also the Capital city of British India) and the construction was completed in 1912.

The Victoria memorial building is a beautiful building made of white marble. Its architecture is a mixture of British and Mughal elements with some Venetian, Egyptian and Deccan  architecture style influences.

The museum has a total of 25 galleries, which include the royal gallery, the national leaders’ gallery, the portrait gallery, central hall, the sculpture gallery, the arms and armoury gallery and many others, which house some beautiful art works from the 18th century.

The beautiful white memorial building is nestled against lush green lawns on its sides.

The gardens of Victoria Memorial are open to public on all days between 5:30 AM and 6:15 PM.

The entry fee per head is INR 10. There is also a yearly ticket that costs INR 1,000 for senior citizens (people above 60 yrs.), and INR 2,000 for other people (below 60).