The Rajbari Complex

The Rajbari is Kalna’s greatest treasure and one of the most remarkable concentrations of Bengal temple architecture anywhere. It is a large walled compound directly opposite the Naba Kailash, built up over nearly a century by successive Maharajas of Bardhaman and their queens after they relocated their thakurbari (family temple compound) here following the Maratha raids that destroyed their earlier complex at Dainhat. The compound is ASI-protected, well-maintained with manicured lawns and flower beds.
Kalna houses three of the only five Panchavimshati Ratna ('25-pinnacled') temples in all of West Bengal, an architectural form of extraordinary rarity and two of them are within this compound. The Rajbari also demonstrates every other major style of Bengal temple construction in a single walk: rekha-deul (curvilinear tower), aat-chala (eight-roofed), jor-bangla (twin-hut), pancha-ratna (five-pinnacled) and flat-roofed. This concentration is unique in the region. Since 2014, the entire complex has been illuminated at night and the effect on the textured terracotta facades is extraordinary.