The Krishnapuram Palace is a palace and museum located in Kayamkulam near Alappuzha in Alappuzha district, Kerala in southwestern India. It was built in the 18th century by Anizham Thirunal
Marthanda Varma (1729–1758 CE), the Travancore kingdom. It is built in the architectural style of Kerala with gabled roof, narrow corridor and dormer windows, near the Krishnaswamy Temple
at Krishnapuram.
The palace is maintained by the Kerala State Department of Archaeology and contains exhibits that belonged to the Palace and its former occupant, the Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma.
It is also famous for a large pond within the palace complex. It is also said that an underground escape route runs from the bottom of the pond as a possible escape route from enemies.
Among the many Kerala-style paintings seen in the palace, a distinctly placed mural painting is titled “Gajendra Moksham” of 154 square feet (14.3 m2) size, which is said to be the largest
such find in Kerala. It is placed on the western end of the ground floor of the palace.
The double edged Kayamkulam Vaal (sword) is also on display here. The palace houses, in its courtyard, one of the four statues of Buddha found in Alappuzha District.
The palace was built by King Marthanda Varma of Travancore after defeating and annexing Odanad in the Odanad–Travancore War of 1746. Before the construction of the palace, the King
demolished an earlier palace at the site, which had been built by the King Veera Ravi Varma of Odanad (reign 1700–1775 CE). Initially, a small palace of a single story, known locally
as Ettukettu, was built in the traditional style with an adjacent pond, temple and urappura under the management of Prime Minister Ramayyan Dalawa, which was later enlarged by
Prime Minister Ayyappan Marthanada Pillai. The palace complex has many other buildings, which are a combination of traditional and Western architecture. The present building, a
three-storied structure within the complex, was renovated in the 1950s by the Archaeological Department of Kerala in modern style conforming to the scientific techniques prescribed for t
he protection of heritage buildings. As a protected monument, it houses the Archaeological Museum and its offices.
The Krishnapuram Palace named after the Krishnaswamy Temple at Krishnapuram, a serene village, is situated about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Kayamkulam town… It is situated on the
top of a small hillock encircled by terraced garden with fountains, ponds and lawns. Its location is to the left of the National Highway 66 (India) (NH 66) between Ochira and Kayamkulam
in the Alapuzha District. It is 47 kilometres (29 mi) away from Alleppey (Alappuzha district) on the way to Kollam
