History

Jaipur is a great city and this is testified by the structures in Jaipur. Palaces, luxury hotels and havelis present the splendour of living. The city has been named after Maharaja Jai Singh II. The city of Jaipur was built in 1727 A. D. according to well defined architectural design and plan. It is considered as the oldest planned city in India. It took four years to complete the construction of the city.

Maharaja Jai Singh built the city primarily with the intention of safeguarding the population of Amber by avoiding confrontations with the mughal kings. The terror of king Aurangzeb had caused the feelings of insecurity every where. The other reason was the scarcity of water in Amber. The king himself was much influenced by astronomy and architecture. The maharaja summoned a Bengali architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya to met his plans.

Vidyadhar Bhattacharya laid down the plans according to ancient Hindu treatise on architecture called 'Shilpa Shastra'. The city was built in nine rectangular blocks. Seven of these blocks were meant for the public and the remaining two consisted of palaces and state buildings. The city was further encircled by the city wall and entry was through seven gates. The maharaja also built an observatory in the year 1728 A.D. which is one of the attractions in Jaipur.

Jaipur got its paint following the visit of a royal family member of United Kingdom. It is believed that the availability of pink color in large quantities was responsible for painting the walls and building pink.