Nyay Mandir, Colonial courthouse in Vadodara, India.
Nyay Mandir is an Indo-Saracenic courthouse in Vadodara featuring red brick walls, mosaic tiles, and central halls adorned with intricate decorations. Robert Chisholm's design blends European and Indian architectural styles, with two central courtyards around which multiple courtrooms are arranged.
The building was inaugurated in 1896 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, marking a major shift in Vadodara's development. The site had served as a vegetable market before being transformed into a modern courthouse that reflected new legal institutions.
The building displays reverence for justice through its artworks, featuring a white marble statue of Maharani Chimnabai I and a wooden relief sculpture of Nyay Devi. These works reflect how the founders understood the structure as a symbol of legal authority and fairness.
The structure sits near Sursagar Lake and is easy to explore on foot, as its two courtyards logically connect the different areas. Visitors should know that rooms are typically open during daytime hours, though some spaces may still function as active courts.
The exterior is covered with Italian ceramic tiles in ochre yellow and brick red, giving the structure a warm, luminous surface. Ornate cupolas and wrought iron screens on the upper sections display craftsmanship details that visitors often overlook and set the design apart from ordinary administrative buildings.
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