Rajbari on the small side of Natore

Natore Rajbari is a palace located in the Natore Sadar Upazila of Bangladesh, a monument to the Natore dynasty.

The Natore dynasty originated in the early eighteenth century. Ganesh Roy and Bhabani Charan Chowdhury, zamindars of Bangachhi in Pargana, were dismissed in 1808 for failing to pay revenue. Dewan Raghunandan took over the zamindari in the name of his brother Ram Jiban. Thus the Natore dynasty was founded. Raja Ram Jeevan was established as the first king of the Natore dynasty in 1606, in 1810 at Mantar. He died in 1834. In 1830, Rani Bhabani was married to Ramkant, the adopted son of Raja Ram Jiban.

After the death of King Rama, Ramakanta became the king of Natore. After the death of Raja Ramkant in 1648, Nawab Alivardi Khan entrusted the management of the zamindari to Rani Bhabani. During the reign of Rani Bhabani, her zamindari extended to present Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra, Kushtia, Jessore, Rangpur, Murshidabad, Birbhum, and Malda districts of West Bengal. Raghunandan, Ram Jeevan, and the Pandits chose the then Bhatjhara Bill to establish the capital of the huge zamindari in their homeland.

Bhatjhara Bill was the property of Puthia Raja Darpanarayan. For this reason, Raghunandan and Ramjivan applied the bill to Raja Darpanarayan as a wife in the name of Ray. King Darpanarayan donated the land to Brahmottor to the new king. Ramjivan dug dighi pond, and chowki in the bill and leveled it, and established a palace. He named the area Natyapur. The palace of Natore was built in 1608-1810. Raghunandan lived in Baranagar (Murshidabad).

The total area of the palace is 120 acres. There are 6 buildings big and small. There are 2 deep ponds and 5 small ponds. The palace is surrounded by two levels of fences. The whole area is divided into 2 parts - small side and big side. Notable temples of Rajbari are Shyamsundara Temple, Anandamayi Kalibari Temple, Tarkeshwar Shiva Temple.