At the heart of the city, Kathmandu’s Durbar Square was once the forecourt of the old royal palace of the Malla and Shah kings, from where the Kathmandu kingdom was ruled. The square itself is full of spectacular architecture - it has created the perfect showcase of the superior craftsmanship of the Newar, the inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. Whilst some buildings are older, the majority of buildings date from the 17^th and 18^th century, with many renovated multiple times over the centuries due to earthquakes.