Mymensingh - Landmarks

Landmarks

The Old Town Hall, built by Maharaja Surya Kanta Acharyya had hosted thousands of drama, meeting and cultural functions since 1878. The age old Town Hall was demolished in 2006 and is being rebuilt by the Mymensingh Pourashava.

Bangladesh Parishad, situated at Chhotto Bazar Road, the regional center of Pakistan Council in Mymensingh, set up in 1969, came to be known as Bangladesh Parishad after establishment of Bangladesh in 1971. It was a government institution under the Ministry of Information and housed a public library with a good collection of books and magazines. The library has 35,656 volumes on all subjects. It also had a hall to hold literary and cultural functions. Till 1980s, Bangladesh Parishad was a hub of cultural activity of post-liberation Mymensingh. It was most active in the late 1970s when Ashraf Ali Khan was its chief executive.

Shishu Academy was set up under the initiative of president Ziaur Rahman in 1980. Its Mymensingh office was opened in 1990s.

The first Shahid Minar was built in 1958 on crossing of the Amrita Babu Road, close Mymensingh Pourashava. It was relocated to the Ton Hall premises around mid-1990s.

Amarabati Natya Mandir was the first theater built in the heart of Mymensingh town in 1930s. Later it was converted into a cinema named Aloka. The Town Hall became the sole venue for staging a play or drama. Bahubrihi is one of the drama circles that has played a key role in sustaining the drama movement in Mymensigh since 1970s. Singing was part of daily life for most people since the 19th century. Mithun Dey and Sunil Dhar were two popular music teachers since the 1960s. Sunil Dhar established a music school at Atharo Bari Building in the 1980s. Folk Ballads: Maimansingha Gitika. There are five cinema halls in Mymensingh town. Most of these halls are very old but still in operation. Cable TV connectivity was launched in 1999 and together with DVD and VCR, most people now prefer home entertainment. However, on special occasions such as Eid, new year, Puja, and other vacations, people still watch movies in the cinema halls. Aloka was the oldest cinema hall which was demolished in 2006 to make a modern shopping and residential complex. Other cinema halls are Chayabani, Purabi and Shena Nibash.

Muslim Institute library has been the most popular public library, established in 1934. The Bangladesh Parishad library was rich and popular which died down in the 1980s. The local Bar also has a library of its own rich in legal books and journals.

The "Alexandar Castle" or "Lohar Kutir" as it is locally known, is where Maharaja Surya Kanta Acharya invited Grand Duke Boris of Russia and General Sir George White, and built it for his stay and a same Russian styled also built by the Ponni of Tangail. Rabindra nath Thakur also was in Alexandra castle for participating a citizen gathering. This earthquake-proof steel and timber building was built after his much vaunted "Crystal Palace" or "Rang Mahal" as it was locally known, was totally and completely destroyed by the "Great Bengal Earthquake" of 12 June 1897. Subsequently, "Soshi Lodge" or "Mymensingh Palace" was built at the site of "Rang Mahal". However Maharaja Surya Kanta died before "Soshi Lodge" could be completed. It was completed by Maharaja Soshi Kanta Acharyya. Both the buildings had once contained innumerable works of art, artifacts, sculptures and antiques collected from all over the world. Both these buildings have been declared as National Heritage Monuments. But unplanned development already damaged the scenario of rare Russian architecture in this country.

Bipin Park is a small park near Boro Bazaar right on the Brahmaputra river.

Museums

The Mymensingh Museum was established in 1969. Though its collection comes from the palaces of zamindars of the greater Mymensingh region, it lacks proper preservation.

The Zainul Abedin Museum was established in a house on the Brahmaputra River in 1975. The art gallery includes the paintings of Zainul Abedin, a pioneer of the country's modern art movement, as well as an art school, art cottage, and open-air stage.

The Fish Museum & Biodiversity Center, also known as FMBC, is operated by Bangladesh Agricultural University.