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365:, also known as Bhimsen Stambha (Nepali: धरहरा, भिमसेन स्तम्भ); pronounced ), is a 72-meter-tall (236 ft) tower located in Sundhara, Kathmandu, Nepal. It was first built in 1832 by Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa under the commission of Queen Lalit Tripurasundari and was part of the architectural heritage of Kathmandu recognized by UNESCO. The tower had a spiral staircase with 213 steps, and the eighth floor had a circular balcony providing a panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley. It also had a 5.2-meter (17 ft) bronze mast on the roof.
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The tower was a major tourist attraction and was open to the public from 2005 until its collapse in 2015. The management of
Dharahara before 2015 came under heavy scrutiny from locals and tourists. The Heritage Department of Kathmandu Metropolitan City was criticized for its lack of effort to protect
658:
In April 2021, The newly rebuilt
Dharahara, 'Seto Tower' as claimed by popular leader Balendra Shah, stands as a 22-story structure with modern features. It includes a museum, a garden, and a fountain nearby, along with two lifts and underground parking for 350 four-wheelers and 6,000 two-wheelers.
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Dharahara was constructed for military usage as a watchtower. When incidents of national importance occurred, bugles were blown from the top floor of the tower. This was the signal for soldiers to assemble. This tradition of bugle trumpeting continued until the collapse of the tower. On one of the
576:
Reconstruction of the tower began in
October 2018. The inauguration ceremony was organized for the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Gorkha earthquake. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the historical Dharahara (Bhimsen Stambha/ Dharahara) on 24 April 2021, in Sundhara, Kathmandu.
545:
had fallen, they understood the scale of the calamity: they then realised that ‘the disaster was not small’. It was a total shock for the people of Nepal, because
Dharahara was the pre-eminent symbol of not only the Kathmandu metropolis, but also of the entire nation.
573:, was destroyed in the 1934 earthquake. Rana Prime minister Juddha Sumsher Rana reconstructed it which was destroyed by the April 2015 earthquake. Under the coordination of the National Reconstruction Authority, the reconstruction of the monument took place.
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in Nepal and the second such tower built by
Bhimsen Thapa. The first tower was built eight years earlier in 1824 (1881 BS) at his residence, Janarala Bagh, situated at south-east of Sundhara, near Bhotebahal of Kathmandu. It got torn in half during the
474:. Legend has it that "The White Tiger" rode on horseback and climbed upstairs to the balcony of the tower. What he did next was daring to many and plain stupid to some. He jumped off the balcony on the horse! The horse died from the jump but "
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517:, Nepal. The structure collapsed and only its base survived. According to the people on the scene when the earthquake hit, the region was covered with clouds of smoke and in the rubble was heard shouting. The Nepalese Army
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and was never rebuilt. It was only a year later (in 1835) that
Bhimsen Thapa built the second Dharahara, along with the Sundhara (the golden water spout), for Queen Lalit TripuraSundari Devi, who was the niece of Bhimsen
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was a known admirer of the Mughal style as is evident by his palace, now demolished, which was Mughal in style with a fair amount of
Kathmandu Gothic thrown in. The main materials used in the tower construction were
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It retains the traditional minaret shape and has a bronze mast on the roof, similar to the original design. The tower officially opened for public from
September 19, 2024 (Constitution Day of Nepal)
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529:. More than 9,000 people were killed and 2.8 million were displaced. The image of Dharahara that fell during the earthquake in the 19th century, quickly became an iconic representation for many
406:, subsequently carried out renovation work of the Dharahara tower to fully restore it. After the original Bhimsen Tower was destroyed, Queen Lalit Tripurasundari's tower came to be known as
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the entrance and launched the rescue mission. Some people were able to collect the remains of
Dharahara bricks, probably to remember them. Those bricks were inscribed with the name of
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557:" was also established to collect money for the reconstruction. According to Sushil Gyawali, chief executive of the National Reconstruction Agency, the new tower will be
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443:(a document with the royal seal) to Bhimsen Thapa in 1835, acknowledging his Commander-in-Chief status and building of Dharahara in Sundhara in 1824, in his honour.
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Amongst the many myths
Kathmandu is surrounded by, is that of the most famous and fearsome Rana Prime Minister of Nepal,
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Despite the inauguration ceremony, the construction work of Dharahara was incomplete untill September 2024.
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completely destroyed the first tower, and only two of the nine storeys of the second tower remained. The then
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836:"Nepal Earthquake Destroys Dharahara Tower, A Significant Tourist Attraction In The Heart Of Kathmandu"
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509:), hit Kathmandu and its surrounding region, leading to the collapse of the tower. The earthquake's
1050:"LIVE: Two major quakes rattle Nepal; historic Dharahara Tower collapses, deaths reported in India"
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It is widely believed that the original towers were modelled on monuments in India such as the
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main purpose was to enable the state and city authorities to summon people to gather on the
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and his cabinet ministers contributed one month's salary to the rebuilding. A fund called "
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8:
637:). The combination of these materials are considered to be much stronger than the common
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467:, and that it showed ‘the religious harmony between Hindu, Muslim and Christian faiths.'
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950:"Revealing What is Dear: the post-earthquake iconisation of the Dharahara, Kathmandu"
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and rebuild it. When local people living far away from the epicenter heard that the
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In February 2016, the government decided to rebuild the tower, and Prime Minister
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810:"The tale of two Dharaharas destroyed by two earthquakes at a 100-year interval"
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561:. The foundation stone of the new tower was laid down on 27 December 2018.
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1109:"Historical Bhimsen Tower (Dharhara) in Kathmandu destroyed in earthquake"
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that stand at the four corners of the Taj Mahal complex at Agra, or the
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Evacuation from under the rubble of Dharahara after the 2015 earthquake
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1186:"PM Oli lays base for Dharahara amid cultural activists' protests"
1021:"Historic Dharahara tower collapses in Kathmandu after earthquake"
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was approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) east-southeast of
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910:"Quake turns two historic landmarks in Kathmandu into rubble"
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The original one, built by the first prime minister of Nepal
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319:; a 10-metre-tall (33 ft) stump of the base remains)
1237:. Kantipur News Daily. 17 December 2010. Archived from
1132:"19th century tower collapses from earthquake in Nepal"
700:
The remains of Dharahara preserved under safety netting
1162:"Nepal To Rebuild Historic Dharahara Tower On Its Own"
1077:"Nepal earthquake topples historical Dharhara tower"
525:, indicating that the tower was rebuilt during his
1210:"Nepal opens replica Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu"
736:The remains of Dharahara after the 2015 earthquake
724:The remains of Dharahara after the 2015 earthquake
588:The architecture of Dharahara is designed in both
564:
492:The remains of Dharahara after the 2015 earthquake
463:to the northeast of the tower) to hear government
676:The original Dharahara before the 1934 earthquake
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480:" survived. One of his daring acts among many.
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27:Tower in the Sundhara area of Kathmandu, Nepal
1235:"It speaks of history, but the glory is lost"
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833:
432:feat of taking Nepal's land back in the war.
537:but also of their national determination to
304:; two of the original nine storeys remained)
996:"The Darling Tower of Kathmandu: Dharahara"
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428:The second tower was built in honour of
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373:Dharahara in Kathmandu was the tallest
14:
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74:Dharahara after reconstruction in 2021
889:"Bhimsen Tower on LonelyPlanet Guide"
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394:A century later, on 15 January 1934,
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500:with an estimated magnitude of 7.8 (
688:Dharhara before the 2015 earthquake
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1170:. 16 February 2016. Archived from
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25:
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781:. 11 January 2010. Archived from
404:Juddha Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana
155:
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93:
1277:Tourist attractions in Kathmandu
1130:Robert Midgley (25 April 2015).
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496:On 25 April 2015, at 11:56 NST,
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1048:Deepak Nagpal (25 April 2015).
918:. 25 April 2015. Archived from
834:Melissah Yang (25 April 2015).
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565:Reconstruction and inauguration
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13:
1:
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865:. 3 May 2013. Archived from
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138:Show map of Bagmati Province
7:
1111:. World Snap. 25 April 2015
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10:
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748:List of destroyed heritage
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555:I will construct Dharahara
425:'Bhimsen Tower').
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29:
969:10.1017/S0021911819000172
814:OnlineKhabar English News
753:Architecture of Kathmandu
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355:https://dharahara.gov.np/
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292:15 January 1934
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1272:Towers completed in 1832
957:Journal of Asian Studies
451:, it is stated that the
192:Complete (reconstructed)
30:Not to be confused with
400:Prime Minister of Nepal
334:Design and construction
329:72 metres (236 ft)
307:25 April 2015
948:Hutt, Michael (2019).
773:"Too tall for comfort"
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391:
491:
389:
107:Show map of Kathmandu
1174:on 18 February 2016.
1138:. AP. Archived from
869:on 24 September 2015
785:on 24 September 2015
559:earthquake-resistant
437:Rajendra Bikram Shah
1267:Towers in Kathmandu
891:. The Lonely Planet
650:the heritage site.
255:27.7007°N 85.3119°E
251: /
197:Architectural style
184:General information
862:The Kathmandu Post
778:The Kathmandu Post
494:
396:another earthquake
392:
380:earthquake of 1834
1190:kathmandupost.com
922:on April 26, 2015
816:. 15 January 2021
472:Jung Bahadur Rana
424:
390:Dharahara in 1910
360:
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176:Alternative names
166:Show map of Nepal
163:Location in Nepal
16:(Redirected from
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1089:on 25 April 2015
1085:. Archived from
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1029:. 25 April 2015
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645:Before collapse
641:used nowadays.
594:European style.
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523:Juddha Shumsher
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484:2015 earthquake
447:sign boards at
430:Bhimsen Thapa's
408:Bhimsen Stambha
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317:2015 earthquake
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302:1934 earthquake
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963:(3): 549–576.
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459:(the military
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606:Bhimsen Thapa
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571:Bhimsen Thapa
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551:KP Sharma Oli
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498:an earthquake
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465:announcements
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461:parade ground
458:
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416:भिमसेन स्तम्भ
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179:Bhimsen Tower
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19:
18:Bhimsen Tower
1243:. Retrieved
1239:the original
1229:
1218:. Retrieved
1216:. 2021-04-24
1213:
1204:
1193:. Retrieved
1189:
1180:
1172:the original
1165:
1156:
1144:. Retrieved
1140:the original
1135:
1125:
1113:. Retrieved
1103:
1091:. Retrieved
1087:the original
1080:
1071:
1059:. Retrieved
1053:
1043:
1031:. Retrieved
1024:
1015:
1004:. Retrieved
1002:. 2015-05-17
999:
960:
956:
924:. Retrieved
920:the original
913:
904:
893:. Retrieved
883:
871:. Retrieved
867:the original
860:
851:
839:. Retrieved
829:
818:. Retrieved
813:
787:. Retrieved
783:the original
776:
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648:
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587:
584:Architecture
579:
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568:
554:
548:
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476:
469:
456:
452:
448:
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440:
439:had given a
429:
427:
407:
393:
372:
362:
361:
339:Architect(s)
205:neoclassical
132:Location in
101:Location in
611:Vajra-Surki
535:catastrophe
453:Dharahara's
258: /
233:Coordinates
1261:Categories
1220:2021-04-25
1195:2020-07-08
1006:2021-06-28
1000:HoneyGuide
895:2011-12-14
857:"For Sale"
820:2021-06-28
759:References
604:in Delhi.
602:Qutb Minar
539:recuperate
519:barricaded
311:2015-04-25
296:1934-01-15
246:85°18′43″E
243:27°42′03″N
215:Sundhara,
1026:DNA India
977:165687047
654:New tower
543:Dharahara
511:epicenter
457:Tundikhel
449:Dharahara
363:Dharahara
287:Destroyed
271:Completed
217:Kathmandu
40:Dharahara
1245:26 April
1214:BBC News
1146:26 April
1115:25 April
1093:25 April
1061:25 April
1055:Zee News
1033:25 April
926:25 April
873:25 April
841:25 April
789:25 April
742:See also
598:minarets
531:Nepalese
441:lalmohar
375:building
282:or later
212:Location
32:Dharhara
663:Gallery
635:Caramel
625:(Black
515:Lamjung
423:
369:History
349:Website
309: (
294: (
276: (
224:Country
219:, Nepal
134:Bagmati
975:
639:cement
631:Chaaku
629:) and
627:lentil
590:Mughal
527:tenure
477:Jungey
412:Nepali
383:Thapa.
326:Height
201:Mughal
189:Status
57:Nepali
53:
973:S2CID
953:(PDF)
615:Chuna
227:Nepal
207:style
50:धरहरा
1247:2015
1167:NDTV
1148:2015
1117:2015
1095:2015
1063:2015
1035:2015
928:2015
875:2015
843:2015
791:2015
623:Maas
619:Lime
592:and
434:King
421:lit.
278:1832
274:1832
203:and
965:doi
621:),
1263::
1212:.
1188:.
1164:.
1134:.
1079:.
1052:.
1023:.
998:.
985:^
971:.
961:78
959:.
955:.
936:^
912:.
859:.
812:.
799:^
775:.
418:,
414::
402:,
1249:.
1223:.
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