Aul Palace or Aul Killa Palace is located near the Aul town of Kendrapara District of Odisha. The palace, overlooking the Kharasrota River, was the official palace of the Deb Dynasty, who ruled the region from 1590 A.D. Some of the rooms of the palace have been turned into guest rooms; in the year 2018 the members of the royal family decided to convert this palace into a heritage hotel. Aul Palace is a fine example of Odishan architecture along with Rajasthani Meena works. Kanika Palace, Bhitarkanika National Park, Lakhmi Varaha Temple and Akhandalamani Temple are the nearby tourist spots to this palace, which are visited by tourists often.
History of Aul Palace
Aul Palace was established in the year 1590 by Telenga Ramachandra Deba after he got blessed by Raja Maan Singh and Raja Todar Mal. First the palace was built by stone, red bricks and joint materials; later it was reconstructed with the typical features of Odishan fort or killa.
Structure of Aul Palace
Aul Palace is situated on 35 acres of land which comprises of the residence of the present Raja, eight guest houses or Tungis, old Darbar, temples, old polli colony (residence of lady servants), ponds, courtyards, ruined Rani Mahal, royal homes (rajbati, ranimahal), ghodashala (stable) etc. The two ends of the palace were used as guard towers from where they used to protect the palace from enemies. On the middle of the fort, there used to be the King"s residence; but one had to cross two guard rooms to reach there. The Darbar Room, linked to the main entrance of the palace, can easily be compared to the Dewan-e-Aam of the Mughal Dynasty. It is constructed with 12 huge pillars, in front of which there is situated a raised platform where the Raja used to sit on; it is used as a "Puja Mandap" now.
Visiting Information to Aul Palace
Aul is about 100 km from Cuttack Railway Station. Biju Patnaik Airport is 188.8 km from Aul.
