1. Victoria Memorial Hall of fame:
In remembrance of the Queen Victoria, the Victoria Memorial is located in Kolkata. The construction of the structure dates back to 1906 and the entire construction works were done by 1921. The complex is now a museum and one of the most sought tourist destinations across India. The memorial is accessible from anywhere of Kolkata for its easy location on the bank of Hooghly River. After the death of the Queen, the decision was taken to build the memorial which will also be covered with gardens. The memorial also aimed to provide historical knowledge to the people visiting the locality and a solid idea how the past days were. The foundation of the building was done by the King George V in 1906 and the place was opened for public visit after 15 years. Funding for the construction was sponsored from different sources and the people of India. The design of the structure has been done in combination of Mughal and British architectures. The gardens of the memorial were designed by other expert designers. The construction of the memorial was delayed for several reasons and after the independence of India, further expansions to the memorial were made. Markana marble has been used to make the building while it contains around 25 galleries and the most impressive galleries are the Royal Gallery and the Calcutta Gallery. The gardens of the memorial covers about 64 acres of lands. Now this is a great place to visit in West Bengal in India.
2. Belur Math Shrine:
A good number of significant institutions are available in Kolkata and they have some historical roles while some of them are still carrying the roles. The Belur Math is one of such institutions in Kolkata that has been bearing the role of the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission in India. In fact, the institution is more famous as the base of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. The establishment has been founded by Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a religious figure for the Hindus in India and around the world. The Math is located in the bank of Hooghly River in West Bengal in India. This is in fact a temple that shows the unity of all religions. Before building the temple, Swami Vivekananda had travelled in different parts of the world and in India. He analyzed all the notable and important structures and learnt about their histories properly. Then he established the headquarters in Belur in India and another one in Himalay. The foundation of this temple was laid in May of 1935 while the construction was handled by Martin Burn & Co. The entrance of the temple contains symbols of the all the religions to show unity with the other religions. A couple of educational institutions have been established inside the temple location and there is a museum as well to exhibit the history or Ramakrishna Math and Mission. A notable number of visitors come here every day to visit the place and know about the histories of the Math.
3. South Park Street Cemetery:
Kolkata is the city in West Bengal that is filled with a large number of visiting places and visitors around the world come and enjoy visiting places. The South Park Street Cemetery is one of the most visiting places and located on the Mother Teresa Sarani in Kolkata in India. The name of the road has been changed according to the name of the cemetery and earlier it was known as the Burial Ground Road. It is said that the Park Street Cemetery is the largest cemetery for the Christians outside of Europe and USA. Besides, the cemetery is one of the non-church cemetery where there are no churches in the boundary of the cemetery. Before the opening in 1767, the cemetery was a marshy land and has been used till 1830. After the closure of the cemetery, the Indian government has marked it as a heritage site for the country and assigned the Archaeological Survey of India as its caretaker. The cemetery was introduced to relieve some burial loads and accordingly the locality got an expansion and the burial ground also got extended. The cemetery has been used in a Tollywood movie as well. The cemetery contains the tombs of different renowned people of the then India and almost all of them were non-natives. The tombs inside the cemetery are of mix Gothic style. This is now a most visiting place in Kolkata.
4. Marble Palace:
Marble Palace is one of the most impressive mansions in North Kolkata. In fact, this is a wonder for many of the visitors in the locality. Mostly the north part of Kolkata is famous for some ancient buildings and the Marble Palace is one of the most attractive one. This extravagant building has been built in the 19 th century and has also been preserved finely. The house is mostly famous for its marble floors and walls. The name of the building has also been adopted from the marble used to make the building. The history of the building dates back to 1835 and it was built by a wealthy merchant named as Raja Rajendra Mullick. He was a great merchant and was passionate for collecting different arts and objects. As part of his desire, he built the building with marbles. Though Raja Rajendra Mullick was the adopted son of Nilmoni Mullick, he achieved everything by his own quality and perseverance. There is another temple inside the Marble Palace compound and that was built by Nilmoni and now the temple is accessible to only the family members of Raja Rajendra Mullick. The architecture of the Marble Palace is the amalgamation of several architectures. The house follows the Neoclassical style while the large and open courtyard is a tradition of Bengal. Inside the house, there are a good number of sculptures and paintings and decorative objects are available.
5. Kalighat Temple:
Dedicated for the Hindu goddess Kali, the Kalighat Kali Temple is located in Kolkata, India. It is said that the Kalighat was used as a landing port of Kali, the Hindu goddess and it is also said that the name of the Kolkata city has also been derived from the name of Kalighat. The river has been moved a bit from the temple through the course of time and now this is located by the side of tiny canal. The canal is connected to the Hoogly River and related to a good number of events. A wide number of pilgrims from different parts of the country come here every day and pray for their wellbeing. The pilgrims treat the Kali as their mother and thus they share their sorrows and sufferings so that she removes them and bless them with a good luck. They share all sorts of issues with the goddess and often express their gratitude as well. There are a good number of legends are found about the locality and the Hindus believe that the Kalighat has some connections with the mythological characters of India. The history of the temple dates back to the 15 th century and the present shape has been formed for around 200 years. the present temple is in large building while the former temple was a small hut made in the 16h century. The image of Kali, the goddess, in this temple is different from the other contemporary images the goddess. Now, this is one the most visiting places in Kolkata.
6. St. Paul's Cathedral:
This is one of the most attractive places in Kolkata and is an Anglican cathedral. The cathedral base was set in 1839 and the construction works were completed in 1847. The cathedral is the largest one in Kolkata and also the first one outside of the British Empire in the then time. Centering the cathedral, a large number of populations grew in the then time in Kolkata and now the place is a great attraction for all. The cathedral is mostly famous for its structure which is made by following the Gothic architecture and it is located on the Cathedral Road in Kolkata. The flourishment of the European community in the surrounding locality expanded the area and its functionality. The cathedral got damaged in some natural disasters like earthquakes when those attacked the city and the reconstruction took place with a revised design and then with the similarity of the former design, some local architectural elements were also implied during the revision. The key purpose of the new design was to endure the local climate of India so that the structure stands against time for longer than it is expected. The new cathedral design has included a library at the complex and a burial ground. The cathedral has been built to replaces a church named St. John’s Church that could not contain the increasing Europeans in the locality. The initial design for the cathedral was rejected for its high building cost and later it was built on iron framework.
7. Dakshineswar Kali Temple:
Built in 1855, the Dakshineswar Kali Temple is one of the most preferred visiting place for the local Hindus in Kolkata. The temple is also visited by the Hindus across the country and is considered as a sacred place for them. The temple is currently located in the bank of Hooghly River. The temple is resided by one of the forms of Kali (a goddess deity for the Hindus) and it is believed that she is able to free her devotes from the material world needs and living. The construction of the temple dates back to 1855 and it was made by a Hindu woman and philanthropist named Rani Rashmoni, who was also a devotee of the deity. The temple is also famous for its close association with the Ramakrishna. There is a large courtyard surrounding the temple and twelve shrines for Shiva. Shiva is considered as a companion of Kali, the goddess. The temple also houses a small temple of Radha-Krishna, a shrine for Rani Rashmoni. There is also a ghat for the devotes to bath in the river. Ramakrishna was replaced here as a priest after the death of his elder brother, Ramkumar. It is said that the founder of the temple had a vison where she saw that the goddess has appeared in the shape of Kali and ordered her to make a beautiful temple in her adjoining locality instead of starting for a long pilgrimage. Accordingly, Rani Rasmoni constructed the temple.
8. Howrah Bridge:
Linking the two cities – Kolkata and Howrah, the Howrah Bridge is located on the Hooghly River in West Bengal in India. The bridge has replaced a pontoon bridge that had connected the cities earlier. After its construction, the bridge was named as the New Howrah Bridge and then was renamed as Rabindra Setu commemorating the poet Rabindranath Tagore who bagged the Noble Prize as the first Asian. Presently the bridge has become an icon for both the cities and enabled to transport around 100,000 vehicles every day and thus it has become the busiest bridge of the locality. The specialty of the bridge is that this a cantilever bridge and the sixth longest one in the world. The most of the traffic on the bridge is consisted of bus and trucks while there are options for pedestrian movements. The Howrah Bridge has not nuts and bolts rather the entire structure is riveted. The construct the bridge, a huge amount of steels was required. With the design of Mr. Walton, the construction began but due to the First World War, the construction work halted for the want of steel. Later the steel was supplied locally and the construction continued. The completion cost of the bridge was around 25 million. The bridge was officially opened for public later fearing the destruction by the Japanese. The bridge has been used in a good number of Indian movies and now one of the center of attractions for locals and foreigners.
9. Writers' Building:
This is one the historical buildings of India and now is the secretariat of the government for West Begnal in India. The building is often termed as the Writers’ only in short terms. Earlier, the chief minister of the state took office in the building but now the office has been shifted to another location for its renovation activities. In fact, the building has served as office for the British East India Company writers and the name of the structure has been derived in that way. The entire building has been designed by a famous designer Thomas Lyon in 1777 and it also has undergone some major and minor extensions in different times. There are some beautiful statues installed inside the building as part of its grand decoration. The building is politically significant and is a testimony of the movements during the independence of India. The building has been constructed by demolishing a church that was located in the same place as part of making an accommodation of the junior servants or writers. The renovation project of the building is estimated as 30 million US dollars. The building is also the witness of different historical events of the Indian history and now is one of the wonders for the country.
10. Jorasanko Thakur Bari:
This is another important place in Kolkata and related with the memories of the Noble laureate Rabindranath Tagore. This is the ancestral residence of the poet who won the Noble Prize for his outstanding literature and he was the first Asian and Indian who won the prize in the dawn of 20 th century. The name of Thakur has been anglicized as Tagore for a better pronunciation and they used to live in Jorasanko. The place is located in the north part of Kolkata in India. The current location of the house is on the Rabindra Bharati University compound which is situated in Dwarkanath Tagore Lane in Jorasanko. The famous poet, Tagore, has passed most of his memorable days in this house and he has remembered the memories in many of his writings. The house was built in 18 th century and there are some histories about the land of the house. It is known that the land of the house was donated to Dwarkanath Tagore, the grandfather of the renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore, also known as Gurudev. Now, the house is being used as a museum and reflects the living ways of the family. The house is now known as the Tagore museum in Kolkata and a large number of local and foreign visitors come here to know about the Tagore family.
