Durbar Square – Bhaktapur, Nepal

Durbar Square – Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is located in the center of Bhaktapur. The Square is one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the Valley as it highlights some of the finest medieval arts of Nepal. About 10 km east of Kathmandu is a town called Bhaktapur, meaning the city of devotees. It covers an area of 5 sq. km and was founded by King Anand Dev (889 A.D) in the shape of a conch shell, which is a sacred symbol. Bhaktapur was once ruled by the Malla’s who built magnificent temples, statues, etc Bhaktapur Durbar Square is a conglomeration of pagoda and shikhara – style temples grouped around a fifty-five-window palace of brick and wood. The square is one of the most charming valley as it highlights the ancient of the kings perched on top of stone monoliths, the guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries, the wood carvings in very place – struts, lintels, tympanums, gateways and windows – all seem to form a well orchestrated symphony. Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square is much larger and more spacious than Kathmandu’s and much less crowded with temples than Patan’s. Victorian illustrations show the square packed with temples and buildings, but the disastrous earthquake of 1934 destroyed many of them and today empty plinths show where some of them once stood and have not been rebuilt.