Aundh Satara Museum is popularly known as Bhavani Museum. It has a collection of artefacts of the King of the princely state of Aundh, Shrimant Bhavanrao.

Districts/Region

Satara District, Maharashtra, India.

History

Shri Bhavani Museum is probably the only museum in India with a large collection of various miniature paintings and sculptures. The collection of the artefacts displayed in the museum were owned by Shri Bhawanrao Pant Pratinidhi, the last ruler of Aundh. The museum consists of around 500 miniature paintings belonging to all the major schools such as Jaipur, Kangra, Mughal, Punjab, Bijapur, Pahadi and Maratha from the 15th to 19th Century. Apart from the miniature art, it also has sections dedicated to sculptures and old books, manuscripts as well as archival papers. 
The Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Maharashtra takes care of the museum. It has restored the paintings of the leading artists associated with the Bombay revivalist School. There are some fascinating paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and many other artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. There are some sculptural masterpieces, and archival papers like a palm print of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj which have been preserved.
 

Geography

Satara is surrounded by seven hills. On the west tehsils of Koregaon, Karad and Patan on the South, on the East Jawali and Wai on the north. 

Weather/Climate

This region has a hot-semi arid climate year-round with an average temperature between 19-33 degrees Celsius. 
April and May are the hottest months when the temperature reaches up to 42 degrees Celsius.
Winters are extreme, and the temperature can go as low as 10 degrees Celsius at night, the average daytime temperature is around 26 degrees Celsius.
The annual rainfall in the region is around 763 mm.
 

Things to do

●    Enjoy the amazing Paintings. 
●    Be amazed by the intricate and magnificent sculptures.
 

Nearest tourist places

●    Shree Kshetra Shikhar Shinganapur (89 KM)
●    Yamai Devi Temple: (2.4 KM) 
●    Kaas lake (66.2 KM)
●    Thoseghar Falls (65.8 KM) 
●    Maha Ganpati Temple Wai (74.1 KM) 

Special food speciality and hotel

Kandi pedhe and Pithla Bhakri are famous in Satara

Accommodation facilities nearby & Hotel/ Hospital/Post Office/Police station

●    Several hotels are available in the proximity
●    Rural Hospital, Aundh (1.2 KM)
●    Aundh Police Station (1.7 KM)
 

Visiting Rule and Time, Best month to visit

●    The museum is closed on Monday and on public holidays. Timings 10:00 A.M - 5:00 P.M
●    Entry fees to enter this museum is ₹15.
 

Language spoken in area 

English, Hindi, Marathi.