Historical background:
St. Philomena's Church in Mysore, which is one of the oldest churches in India, has a history of over 2 1/2 centuries. Over 250 years ago, there was a small shrine at this place. When Mysore State's capital was shifted from Srirangapatna to Mysore in 1799, many British officers, soldiers and men came to Mysore and settled down in the city. Realising the need for a Christian shrine for these men, then Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III gave a piece of land on the Mysore-Bangalore Road and a small church came up on the site. With the city's expansion and increase in Christian population, there arose the need for a bigger shrine and plans were drawn up for the church, which stands now.

Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV laid the foundation stone for the new church on October 28, 1933, and recalled that his grand-father had built the small shrine in 1843. "Though it is sad that this old church is disappearing, it is heartening to note that a bigger and grandeur church is coming up on the same site", the Maharaja observed. Bishop Rene Fuga completed its construction in 1941. Having heard about the greatness of St. Philomena, Thamboo Chetty, Huzur Secretary to the Maharaja, obtained the relic of the saint from Peter Pisani, Apostolic Delegate of the East Indies, in 1926. It was handed over to Fr. Cochet. The next year, a new statue of the saint was brought from France. The church today stands as a monument to the catholic outlook of the Mysore rulers. It is not only a religious centre, but also a tourist attraction. There is an orphanage at the premises administered by the church.

Location: About 3 kms from the city bus stand and 2 kms from the Palace. Visiting Hours: Daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Holy Mass: In the morning and evening. Special masses on Sundays and festivals
 
Annual Feast: August 11, every year

The Zoological Garden

The Zoological Garden was established by Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar, one of the architects of modern Mysore. He was a lover of nature and was responsible for creating many parks and gardens. The famous Bandipur Game Sanctuary was established during his time for entertaining important guests who visited his State and also for providing an opportunity for them to see the wild animals in their natural habitat. The Zoo Garden was created in a portion of the Summer Palace or Pleasure Palace in the eastern part of Mysore City. Then called the Palace Zoo, it was opened in 1892. Initially, the Zoo covered an area of 10 acres of the Summer Palace. The Maharaja engaged the services of Mr. G.H. Krumbeigal, German landscaper and horticulturist, who had created the beautiful and the famous Brindavan Gardens in Krishnarajasagar and the Cubbon Park in Bangalore. A lover of animals, the Maharaja took care to see that spacious and aesthetic enclosures are provided to the wild animals, which continue to be useful even today. Mr. Huge, an Australian, who was selected for the purpose and appointed as the Zoo Superintendent, a few years later supervised the expansion of the zoo to 45 acres. On realising the popularity of the Zoo after 10 years of its beginning, the Maharaja felt it would be appropriate to open the institution to the public considering its importance as a recreational and educational value. It was carved out from the adjoining Summer Palace and became a separate part. Over the years, it became popular as the Mysore Zoo.

During those days, there were only a few zoos established by the Maharajas, Nawabs and British rulers in only a few provinces. Besides Mysore, only Madras (Chennai), Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), Calcutta (Kolkota), Lucknow and Victoria Garden in Bombay (Mumbai) had similar zoos. But, the Mysore Zoo came to be recognised as one of the best zoos in the country. Besides an excellent collection of animals, the Mysore Zoo could boast of a beautiful bandstand having in the backdrop the Chamundi Hills and also artificial lakes. After its expansion, the Mysore Zoo was renamed as Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, after its illustrious founder, in 1909. 
Whenever the Maharajas visited Africa and European countries, they selected rare and interesting animals such as chimpanzees, giraffe, antelopes, primates, birds and bears and added to their collection. The task of crating and transporting the animals was entrusted to animal dealers. One such important dealer was Mr. Herman Ruhe, a German who owned different zoos in Germany. Animals available in the Mysore forests were exchanged for the animals procured from other countries and as a result acquisition of a large number of animals of different species was possible. Mr. Ruhe was a close associate of the Mysore Zoo for more than eight decades. During his association with the Mysore Zoo for over five decades, Mr. Albert Meems, a colleague of Mr. Ruhe, travelled a number of times along with animals procured for the Zoo. These dealers had excellent knowledge in exchanging and transporting the wild animals. They not only accompanied the animals taking good care of them but also guided the Zoo authorities on rearing the animals in the local conditions. The Maharajas, besides adding rare and exotic collection of wild animals, also converted the Mysore Zoo into an 'orphanage' for rearing abandoned animals, such as calves of elephants, gaur, tigers and leopards. The elephant calves caught in the famous Khedda operations were reared here, before being sent abroad. Breeding of many exotic animals such as zebra, eland/antelope, barbery sheep, emus, giraffe and kangaroos was done successfully in the zoo and given away to other zoos in India and abroad. Superintendents like Mr. Huge, Mr. Siddaraje Urs and Mr. S. Anantharamaiah nourished and administered the Zoo bringing it a place of pride among the zoos in the country.

After Independence, the Zoo was gifted from the Palace to the Department of Parks and Gardens of the Mysore State Government in 1948. When Dr. M.H. Marigowda, who had been educated at Harvard and worked in Kew Gardens became the Director of Parks and Gardens, the Zoo was expanded with the acquisition of 50 acres of the adjoining Kensington Garden with its famous 'Thandi Sadak' (Cool Avenue) or 'Daly Avenue', from the Palace. Later the 150-acre Karanji Tank area was also added to the Zoo, expanding it to the present 250 acres. Programmes for breeding rare animals were taken up.

Chamundi Hills

landmark of Mysore is the Chamundi Hills. A visitor can spot it from a distance of 8 to 10 kms while driving to this old royal city of Yadu Maharajas or Wodeyars from any direction.

It stands as a crown overlooking the city with the presiding deity of Mysore and the family Goddess of the Maharajas, Chamundeswari, residing atop, in the famous Chamundi temple, blessing her devotees since several centuries. Besides the temple, there is also a small Palace of the Mysore rulers, Lalithadri, now in possession of Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the Mysore royal family and son of late Maharaja, Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. Near the temple, is a statue of Monster Mahishasura. It is made out of mortar and colourfully painted. It is about 3.5 metre tall.

Mahishasura, according to mythological legend, was the ruler of this place and was killed by Goddess Chamundeswari, a form of Goddess Parvathi, and the consort of Lord Shiva.