Newar architecture

Newar architecture or Newa architecture is an indigenous style of architecture used by the Newari people in the Kathmandu valley in Nepal. Newar architecture consists of the pagoda, stupa, shikhara, chaitya and other styles. The valley's trademark is the multiple-roofed pagoda which may have originated in this area and spread to India, China, Indochina and Japan.^[1][2] Residential houses, monastic courtyards known as baha and bahi, rest houses, temples, stupas, priest houses and palaces are the various architectural structures found in the Kathmandu valley. Most of the chief monuments are located in the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the old royal palace complexes built between the 12th and 18th centuries.^[3] The style is marked by striking brick work and a unique style of wood carving rarely seen outside Nepal. The style has been propagated by Nepalese architects including Arniko.^[4][5][6]

Pagoda temples

A few of the most prominent Newari-style pagodas include:

• Chandeshwori Temple
• Changu Narayan Temple
• Kasthamandap Sattal
• Kathmandu Durbar Square - The nine storied Palace
• Kumbheshwar Temple
• Muktinath Temple
• Naradevi Temple
• Narayanhity Royal Palace
• Nhugha Dega Temple
• Nyatapola Temple
• Pashupatinath Temple
• Taleju Bhawani temple

See also

• Bahal
• Newar window

References

Further reading

• Slusser, Mary Shepherd. Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley (Two Volumes), Princeton University Press 1982. ISBN 9780691031286
• Pruscha, Carl. Kathmandu Valley - The Preservation of Physical Environment and Cultural Heritage - A Protective Inventory, Vol. 2, Wien 1975
• Korn, Wolfgang. The Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1979