Umaid Bhawan Palace, located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owners of the palace, this monument has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family.

Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to use of stones commonly known as Chittar in the building. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November 1929 by erstwhile Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943.The Palace was built to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine.

The present owner of the Palace is Gaj Singh. The Palace is divided into three functional parts - a luxury Taj Palace Hotel (in existence since 1972), the residence of the owner's royal family, and a Museum focusing on the 20th century   more...