// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy Durbar Square? It's a royal pain.

Patan Durbar Square in 2010

Durbar Square or Royal Square in English, is the generic name that refers to the plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces in Nepal. The name comes from Persian دربار (Darbar). The durbar squares are full of temples, idols, open courts, water fountains and much more. Before the Unification of Nepal, Nepal consisted of smaller independent kingdoms, and Durbar Squares are some prominent remnants of those old kingdoms in Nepal. There are three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, belonging to the three Newar kingdoms who were situated there before unification, are most famous: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. All three of these landmarks are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites had received significant damage due to the devastating earthquake of 2015 but most structures still remain or were reconstructed.

Gallery

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  Durbar Square in 1988
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  Maju Dega-Narayana-Shiva Parvati
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  Pratapamalla-Jagannath
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  Bhimeshwara-Garuda
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  Maju Dega-Kamadev
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  Taleju
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  Saraswati-Chyasin Dega
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  Gaddi Baithak
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  Souvenirs
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  Bhagwati Temple (left), Big Bell or Taleju Bell, small Vishnu Temple (right), Kathmandu
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  Patan Durbar Square
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  Patan Durbar Square

See also

• Durbar (court)
• Kathmandu Durbar Square
• Patan Durbar Square
• Bhaktapur Durbar Square
• Media related to Durbar Square at Wikimedia Commons

Further reading

• von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2019. Nepalese Stone Sculptures. Volume One: Hindu; Volume Two: Buddhist. (Visual Dharma Publications). ISBN 978-3-033-06381-5. Contains SD card with 15,000 digital photographs of Nepalese sculptures and other subjects as public domain.