Bardhaman Rajbari (Mahatabmanjil)

Hours: Grounds generally accessible during daylight hours; university buildings closed to public
Entry: Free (grounds)
ASI Tombs: Check with ASI for current access hours
The Raj palace of the Bardhaman Maharajas is a sprawling complex whose imposing bulk you sense before you fully see it. The main building, Mahatabmanjil, constructed by Mahatab Chand Bahadur in 1851, is now home to the Bardhaman University, which means access to the interiors is restricted, but the grounds and exterior are freely walkable. The architectural style is a layered palimpsest: Italianate colonnades, Baroque-ish flourishes and Bengali decorative details compete for attention on every facade.
Within the Rajbati compound or its immediate surrounds, look out for:

• The tombs of Sher Afghan Khan (Mughal governor, killed in 1610 in a duel near the station) and the Pir Baharam, both maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The story of Sher Afghan’s death is one of the great melodramas of Mughal history: cut down by Kutubuddin Khan, a rival, possibly on orders from the future Emperor Jahangir, for the hand of the woman who would become Nur Jahan. 
• The Afghan Church, built in 1816 under the supervision of Captain Charles Stuart of the East India Company, is a small red-brick colonial church that stands as a reminder of the British administrative presence that coexisted with the Raj.