Bhaktapur Durbar Square

       Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the plaza in front of the royal palace of the old Bhaktapur Kingdom and is 1400m above the sea level. It is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. This durbar square is also listed is the world heritage site by UNESCO.The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the current town of Bhaktapur and also known as bhadgoan which lies 13 km east of Kathmandu. While the complex consists of at least four distinct square (Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square, Dattatreya Square and Pottery Square), the whole are is informally known as the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, and is a highly visited site in the Kathmandu Valley.

Layout

      The Durbar Square proper houses the 55-window Palace which was constructed by King Jitamitra Malla and was home to royalty until 1769. It is now a national gallery which is used to keep in the museum. This durbar square is close by the Golden Gate which leads us into Mulchok Court which is home to the Taleju Temple. This temple is the main temple of the Kathmandu Valley. The entrance to temple is restricted to Hindus and taking photograph of living goddess is strickly not allowed.

The Durbar square is surrounded by spectacular architecture which is designed   by the skill full people of the Newari caste which are beautiful and of several centuries. The royal palace was originally situated at Dattatreya square and was only later moved to the Durbar square location.

History

      The Durbar square at Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and hence appears more spacious than the others, located at Kathmandu and Patan. Originally, there were 99 courtyards attached to this palace, but now only 6 remains. Prior to the earthquake, there were 3 separate groups of temples. But currently, the square itself is surrounded just by buildings that survived the quake.