| Kaiser Mahal | |
| Location Town: | Kathmandu |
| Location Country: | Nepal |
| Architect: | Kumar Narasingh Rana and Kishor Narasingh Rana |
| Client: | Chandra Shumsher JBR |
| Cost: | Unknown |
| Structural System: | Brick and Mortar |
| Style: | Neoclassical architecture and European styles of architecture |
Kaiser Mahal is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex, located west of the Narayanhity Palace, was incorporated in an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings.
The palace complex lay in the heart of Kathmandu, to the west of the Narayanhity Palace.[1]
Initially the land area of Keshar mahal was occupied by a small palace of one of the sons of Commander-in-Chief Dhir Shumsher and younger brother of Bir Shumsher JBR, Lt. General Jeet Shumsher J. B. Rana.[2] Later Jeet Shumsher sold his palace to Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, who then destroyed the old palace and build a new palace in 1895 for his son Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana[3] These unique and impressive Edwardian features earned it the name "Garden of Dreams."[4]
After the fall of the Rana regime, Kaiser Mahal was occupied and owned by Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. It was sold to government of Nepal.[3] It is currently occupied by Kaiser library, and Sampati Suddhikaran Aayog.[5]
This palace was partially damaged during the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Kaiser Mahal was designated safe and received a yellow sticker, with further recovery efforts required for the books and artifacts.[6]
After earthquake, Kaiser Mahal underwent extensive retrofitting to preserve its historical architecture while upgrading the structure to meet modern safety standards. This retrofitting process was crucial to ensuring the building's resilience against seismic activity and to accommodate contemporary utilities. Following the completion of these renovations, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) was relocated to Kaiser Mahal in June 2024, making the building fully operational as a government office.[7]