Patan - Durbar Square

Durbar Square

In Malla times Durbar Square already provided a splendid stage for religious ceremonies and festivals, as it still does today. Like the palace squares of both the other royal cities, that of Patan is also on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage sites.

Towards the end of the 16th c. Hariharashima Malla of Kathmandu became ruler of Patan, installing himself in the royal palace in Manikeshwar Chowk. With him came worship of the goddess Degutale, the Malla family deity, to whom he erected a temple. Siddhi Narasimha Malla extended the palace, building Mul Chowk and Sundhara Chowk and creating the Bhandarkhal Fountain in the east of the garden. In order to build Mul Chowk, the Hatko Vihara was moved.