Malaysia · 19th century
The Istana Besar or Grand Palace is the royal palace of the Sultan of Johor and is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Located in the city of Johor Bahru, the palace was built in 1866 during the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar. The palace overlooks the Straits of Johor and features Anglo-Malay architecture, characterised by its dome of Malay design with its blue roof of Anglo influence.
The Istana Besar is currently used only for investitures, state banquets and royal functions.
Within the Istana Besar is the Royal Abu Bakar Museum, which was renovated to become a museum in 1982 and officially opened in 1990. It is a living museum which houses a collection of royal heirlooms, artifacts and a record of the history of the state's royal family. The Royal Museum was closed to the public from January 2012.
Text adapted from “Istana Besar” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Johor Grand Palace ranks #3,443 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #6 of the 11 mapped in Malaysia. Founded 1866, it is older than 6% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 705 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,752 times in the last 60 days, more than 66% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Malaysia compares in the castle statistics.
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