Kowdiar Palace, Royal palace in Thiruvananthapuram, India
Kowdiar Palace is a royal residence in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state in southern India. The compound holds 150 rooms with sloping roofs, carved wooden panels, and open verandas following local building traditions.
Kowdiar Palace was built by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma; the Malayalam source dates the construction to 1931, and the palace in its present form was completed in 1934, the year his only sister Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi married G. V. Raja. After the 1971 constitutional amendment the Travancore royal estates were divided equally between the branches of the two queens, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi, and this palace passed to the heirs of Sethu Parvathi Bayi because her son had built it.
The name Kowdiar comes from the neighborhood that has long been associated with the royal household. The rooms display carved wooden elements and traditional roof construction found in older manor houses across Kerala.
The estate lies roughly 13 kilometers from the airport and remains closed to visitors as a private home. The surrounding area can be viewed from outside, while the interior spaces are not accessible.
Kowdiar Palace was built by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, and after the 1971 constitutional amendment the royal estates were divided equally between the branches of the two Travancore queens, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi. This palace went to Sethu Parvathi Bayi's heirs because her son had built it.
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