Kempegowda Museum

The Kempegowda Museum is a heritage museum located on the first floor of Mayo Hall on M.G. Road in central Bengaluru, Karnataka. Established in 2011 by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, it is dedicated to Kempe Gowda I, the 16th-century chieftain credited with founding Bengaluru in 1537. The museum displays artefacts, inscriptions, maps, and a statue of Kempe Gowda, documenting the city's origins, forts, temples and urban evolution.

Visitors can expect a compact, single-floor museum inside the heritage Mayo Hall building. The gallery displays a statue of Kempe Gowda I, historical maps of early Bengaluru, photographs, inscriptions, artefacts, and information panels explaining the city's founding, forts, tanks and temples. The setting is indoor and educational, suitable for a short sightseeing stop in central Bengaluru near M.G. Road and Cubbon Park.

The museum commemorates Kempe Gowda I (1510-1569), a chieftain under the Vijayanagara Empire who is credited with founding Bengaluru in 1537. He built the Bengaluru Fort, laid out the pete (market) areas, and constructed temples and tanks that shaped the early city. Established in 2011 by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the museum preserves and presents documents, maps and artefacts related to his period and the early urban history of Bengaluru.

The museum serves as a cultural repository for Bengaluru's identity and heritage, highlighting the legacy of its founder and the city's historical urban planning, temple architecture and fort traditions. It is a point of civic pride and educational interest for residents and visitors learning about the origins of modern Bengaluru.