Nepals historic architecture destroyed by earthquake archdaily. History dharahara, also known as bhimsen stambha tower was. Dharahara tower of nepal collapsed after earthquake of magnitude. Bhimsen thapa simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Desmond doig in his book, in the kingdom of the gods wrote this as his. Oct 26, 2015 dharahara in kathmandu was the tallest building in nepal and the second such tower built by bhimsen thapa. History of taj mahal history of taj mahal agra taj mahal.
Questions about public memory, history and identity often arise in the aftermath of a major natural disaster. The tower has been open for the general public since 2005 for a small fee. Integrated history of ancient india patriots forum. The government will collect donations from its employees and nepali citizens to rebuild dharahara, also known as bhimsen tower, which came crashing down on april 25, 2015 after a devastating. Historic dharahara tower to be reconstructed nepal pm k. The tower was destroyed in 25 april 2015 nepal earthquake references. Dharahara is actually the second such tower made by bhimsen thapa.
The tower was originally built in 182526 by the rana prime minister, bhimsen thapa, for queen lalit as part of the citys first europeanstyle palace. Dharahara tower by gerry birch the dharahara tower or bhimsens tower or even bhimsens folly as it is sometimes known is now no longer a part of the kathmandu skyline. Pdf architectural considerations in restoration of heritage. The collapse of the dharahara tower in kathmandu romey, kristen, 2015 was a major cultural loss. Juddha shumsher, an erstwhile prime minister renovated dharahara to its original form. It was built in 1832 by mukhtiyar equivalent to prime minister bhimsen thapa under the commission of queen lalit tripura sundari and was a part of the architecture of kathmandu recognized by unesco. Preliminary academic historians have been criticising the present history of india as unrealistic. Nepal to rebuild historic dharahara tower on its own. Sharma oli laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the historic dharahara tower in kathmandu. Dharahara simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Apr 25, 2015 the dharahara tower, built in 1832, was a landmark that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony. The tower was used for military purposes and as a watchtower. Apr 25, 2015 the ninestory tower was built in 1832. A number of nepals iconic unesco world heritage sites and landmarks, including the dharahara tower built for a queen, have been destroyed following the earthquake that hit the country saturday morning, killing over 3,300 people.
Early indian architecture and art subhash kak abstract. The dharahara and the nepali public, by michael hutt sway. Media in category views from dharahara the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Volunteers work to remove debris at the historic dharahara tower, a city landmark, after an. The dharahara tower, one of nepals iconic landmarks in its capital katmandu, was reduced to rubble saturday when a 7. Nepals historic dharahara tower collapses, trapping hundreds. Over recent years, although it had been restored, it had been masked by the surrounding development.
Nepal earthquake destroys dharahara tower, a significant. Dharahara tower can history be rebuilt after the nepal earthquake. On april 25, 2015, central nepal was struck by a magnitude 7. Apr 27, 2015 outside of the dharahara tower, nepal is known for its fired brick and timber temple complexes, some dating back as far as the 3rd century ad, many of which have been significantly damaged by the.
Nepals famous dharahara tower becomes site for selfies after. It was rebuilt with nine storeys, two less than the original building, after it was severely damaged in the 1934 earthquake. A jv of chinese company gietc and a local firm has won the contract to rebuild the 22storeyed structure. Apr 26, 2015 the 60m tower was built in 1832 for the queen of nepal. As a growing metropolis in a developing nation, how can the built form of kathmandu val ley take. The dharahara tower, built in 1832, was a landmark that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony. The original dharhara tower was named after prime minister of nepal bhimsen thapa who built it in 1824 ad.
It was in the memory of his beloved wife that shah jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the taj mahal. Pdf effects of surface geology and topography on the damage. Nepalese rescue members and onlookers gather at the collapsed dharahara tower in kathmandu on april 25, 2015. Mr oli, while inaugurating the reconstruction process of dharahara at sundhara today, announced to give a months salary rs 61,820 for the citizens fund for the reconstruction of the tower. The monument includes a mosque and a guest house along with a garden which surrounds the monument from three sides. Pdf damage extraction of buildings in the 2015 gorkha. It features all the timeline posts by the administrators, from its second anniversary november 16, 2016 until november 12, 2016 as well as select contributions from its various members, and friends. Kathmandus historic dharahara tower reduced to rubble. Bhimsen tower dharahara kathmandu, nepal attractions. This is a collection of entriesposts from the facebook grouppage beakman fans. Apr 26, 2015 among the destroyed buildings in the nepal earthquake was the ninestory dharahara tower, a landmark built by nepals royal rulers as a watchtower in the 1800s and a unescorecognized historical. The tower was rebuilt, but on april 25, 2015 it was destroyed again by another earthquake. After his initial rise to power during the reign of rana bahadur, the immature age of girvan yuddha shah and rajendra bikram shah, coupled with the support from rani tripurasundari the junior queen, who was also his niece, allowed him to continue.
Taj mahal 3 taj mahal is a beautiful monument built on the bank of yamuna river in agra. The government of nepal has announced that there will be a replacement built for the dharahara tower which was lost in 2015s earthquake. It was a casualty of the earthquake that shook kathmandu on 25th april. A century later, in 1934, dharahara was rocked by an even more powerful earthquake than saturdays that killed around 16,000 people, the wall street journal. Apr 27, 2015 nepals historic dharahara tower a ninestory watchtower designed to provide views of the countrys winding capital, kathmandu was reduced to rubble by saturdays magnitude7. It fills in the gap in the postharappan, prebuddhist art of india by calling attention to the structures of. August 1775 28 july 1839 was the prime minister of nepal from 1806 to 1837. When the earthquake that struck eastcentral districts of nepal on 25 april 2015 destroyed the dharahara, a 203foot tower erected in kathmandu nearly two hundred years ago, its ruined stump provided a focal point for many of them. Poor little rich slum by rashmi bansal and deepak gandhi. Bhimsen was appointed as hajuriya personal secretary of king rana bahadur shah in 1797. Dharahara tower, a 203 feet tall unreinforced mas onry tower fig.
Apr 25, 2015 the tower was rebuilt, but on april 25, 2015 it was destroyed again by another earthquake. Dharhara minaret, ruined in nepal earthquake, was originally part of. This article deals with architecture, temple design, and art in ancient india and also with continuity between harappan and historical art and writing. Dharahara was built for queen lalit tripura sundari, who was the niece of bhimsen thapa. The tower was destroyed in 25 april 2015 nepal earthquake. The image of the dharahara, a nineteenthcentury minaret that collapsed during the quake, quickly became for many nepalis an iconic representation not only of the disaster but also of a national determination to recover and rebuild. The dharahara and the nepali public by michael hutt.
The original bhimsen tower was built in 1824 and was 11 stories high, 2 stories taller than dharahara. The dharahara was built by nepal mukthiyar bhimsen thapa in the 19 th century which presented a surreal picture of the entire valley the original monument stood 11storeys high but unfortunately when an earthquake rocked nepal in 1934, the monument was reduced to a mere 9storey sadly, the structure was completely destroyed in the recent earthquake killing over 100 sitevisitors. Drawing upon media and literary discourse in the nepali language, this article asks why the dharahara tower, rather than the countrys severely damaged world heritage sites, loomed so large in the nepali imagination in the immediate aftermath of the april 2015 earthquake, and why it became a rallying point for a resurgence of nepali hill. Historic dharara tower collapses in kathmandu youtube.
During the earthquakes of 1834 and 1934, both the towers suffered major damage. This is the fourth book by writer, entrepreneur and youth expert rashmi. Dharahara was built for the niece of bhimsen queen lalit tripura sundari. Pdf this study explores architectural considerations necessary for restoration of heritage buildings damaged by earthquakes in the. Nepals historic dharahara tower collapses in massive earthquake. Nepals dharahara tower to rise from the rubble lonely planet. Historic dharahara tower collapses in kathmandu after 7. August 1775 5 august 1839 was the mukhtiyar equal to prime minister and real ruler of nepal from 1806 to 1837. With its historic connections to buddhism and the number of nepalis living abroad, the effects of the earthquake sent waves all over the world. A historic tower built in the 19th century collapsed in the nepali capital kathmandu following a severe earthquake today and at least one body was removed as police cordoned off the. History dharahara, also known as bhimsen stambha tower was perhaps the most iconic structure of kathmandu. Hundreds of years of culture and history was shattered into pieces when a magnitude7. The first major earthquake in 80 years also took along with it the darling tower of kathmandu, dharahara. A stump just 10 metres 33 feet high was all that was left of.
One particular landmark, the dharahara tower, was tragically destroyed by. A screenshot of the national seismological centre nepals website showing damage to the dharahara tower in katmandu after the 1934. Jan 31, 2016 dharahara was built in the 18th century by the first prime minister of nepal, bhimsen thapa. As per the history, the tower was built for the military purpose as a watch over by the then prime minister bhimsen thapa. Pages in category former towers the following 25 pages are in this category, out of 25 total. The tower had a spiral staircase and a fantastic panoramic view of the kathmandu valley could be seen from the tower. Thus, other than dharahara tower, six large buildings were selected as nonedamaged or at least noncollap sed ones in figure 4. It was built as a tomb for mumtaz mahal, the beloved wife of mughal emperor shah jahan. Nepali around the base of the tower which recorded a version of its history.
Nepalese rescue members and onlookers gather at the collapsed dharahara tower. Man on top of ninestorey dharahara tower in kathmandu when earthquake struck lives to tell the tale of his survival. The construction of taj mahal started in the year 1631. Mumtaz mahal, an inseparable companion of shah jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. All the earthquake left of the lighthouselike building was a jagged stump 10 metres high. Nepal cooperation and his books more than cover that period.