HILL PALACE MUSEUM

1.Hill Palace Museum, once the residence of the royal famly of Kochi is now the largest
Archaeological museum of Kerala. This Palace was built in 1865. Hill Palace is located at
about 12 kilometers from Cochin on the Kochi Chottanikkara Road. The Hill Palace is set
amongst the sprawling estate of 52 acres with lush green plantations and lawns all over. There
are 49 buildings built in the traditional Kerala style of Architecture and terraced land with
ponds, fountains and landscaped lawns. Hill Palace is a fullfledged archaeological museum
and a first ever Ethno Archaeological and Heritage museum as well.
2 Complex The palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional architectural style bed
land with ponds, fountains and lawns. A full fledged ethno archaeological museum and Kerala's
first ever Heritage museum are the main attractions here. There is an 'ettukettu' constructed in
the typical Kerala style is the oldest building in the whole complex which is said to have been
constructed around 1850 AD. There is an adjacent pond, temple and urappura in that ettukettu
construction.
3. Period Built: Palace Was Built In 1865 And Museum Opened To Public In 1986 Museum
was built in 1865 by the Maharaja of Cochin. It was handed over to the Government of Kerala
by the Cochin Royal Family and in 1980, the palace was taken over by the Department of
Archaeology. It was later converted into a museum and opened to public in 1986. One could
spend hours at the Hill Palace Museum in Tripunithura and not know how time flies. The
several attractions the palace offers leave you rooted in a time capsule. The museum has an
archaeological museum, a heritage museum, a deer park, a pre-historic park and a children’s
park.
4. Items on display in the 1865 European style palace. Upper passageway at Hill Palace
Museum, Thripunithura. The floor appears to be stone tiles. Carved wooden columns and glass
windows line the gallery that extends around the upper storey. I see it as a much-modernized,
distant echo of the wooden galleries that surround the traditional palaces, such
as Krishnapuram Palace. This is an oil-burning metal lamp that I saw in a display case. The
open pan at the lamp’s base contains the oil, and people rest wicks on the pan’s brim, and light
the wicks. The brim can support one or many wicks, depending on the need for light. A chain is
one several methods of supporting a lamp. Other lamps stand atop built-in pedestals or are
mounted on the wall. A hanging lamp is called ത◌ൂ ക◌ൂക◌ൂ വ◌ൂ ളക◌ൂക◌ൂ (thookku
vilakku)
5. aRCHITECTURE The Ettukettu, or two-courtyard traditional palace from 1850. One of the
paths leading to the old palace, or “ettukettu”, at the Hill Palace Museum complex in
Thripunithura. “Ettukettu” means “eight halls”. An ettukettu has two courtyards, each with four
adjoining rooms. The old palace is nestled into the hillside, veiled by trees. Paths meander
through the large estate, much of it landscaped garden. One perceives that one crosses a gulf
of distance and time when walking from the bright, busy new palace to the peaceful, shaded
ettukettu.
6. Roof detail of Ettukettu, or “eight-halled” palace with two courtyards. The dormer depicted
here is known in Malayalam as “mukhappu”, related to the word മ◌ൂ ഖ◌ൂ (mukham) or
“face”. The roof’s structure, including the dormer’s, is made of fretsawn and carved wood. Two
masonry columns: each has an oil-burning stone lamp let into the surface. A visitor would see
the lamps when approaching the old palace’s entrance.
7. top is copied from temple architecture. The name for the top is “makutam”, which perhaps
translates as “sceptre” or ornamental top.
8. Paliam gallery in the museum contains the collections donated by the Paliyathachan's
family. Paliyathachan's were hereditary Prime Ministers to the Cochin Maharaja’s for a long
period. This gallery was opened in 1991. The gallery of cabinet Hall displays royal furniture's
including the 'Simhasana' (the throne or the king's chair). There is also a Folklore and Folk Arts
Gallery at the Hill Palace Museum featuring some old musical instruments and clay models.
And if you are interested in big-sized exhibits, walk into the gallery for chariots at the Hill
Palace Museum. Here, you will come across displays of horse-drawn coaches imported from
England and formerly used by the Maharajas of Travancore.