The Red fort, New Delhi

History-
In 1638 Shahjahan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi and laid the foundations of Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi. It is enclosed by a rubble stone wall, with bastions, gates and wickets at intervals. Of its fourteen gates, the important ones are the Mori, Lahori, Ajmeri, Turkman, Kashmiri and Delhi gates, some of which have already been demolished.
 His famous citadel, the Lal-Qila, or the Red Fort, lying at the town's northern end on the right bank or the Yamuna and south of Salimgarh, was begun in 1639 and completed after nine years. The Red Fort is different from the Agra fort and is better planned, because at its back lies the experience gained by Shahjahan at Agra, and because it was the work of one hand. It is an irregular octagon, with two long sides on the east and west, and with two main gates, one on the west and the other on the south, called Lahori and Delhi gates respectively. While the walls, gates and a few other structures in the fort are constructed of red sandstone, marble has been largely used in the palaces.

Structure-
The feature of the fort that it was made up of large sand stone of red color gave it the name Red Fort. The fort was previously also known as ‘Qila-e- Mubarak’ or the Blessed Fort due to the fort being residence to the royal family. Spreading over an area of more than 250 acres of land, Red Fort was constructed with superior architecture than that of the Agra Fort by Shah Jahan. Red Fort held a significant focus in the time of Mughal Rule and is one of the best examples of apex of Mughal architecture and zeal for precision, grandeur and finesse reflected especially during the era of Shah Jahan.


 Red Fort witnessed many additions and alterations under the rule of coming Mughal rulers, mainly during the rule of Aurangzeb. After the ouster of Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1857, Red Fort saw further changes to its construction as were witnessed after the Independence of India. British used the Fort as Army Cantonment and even liberated India used it for the Army till early years of the 21st century, when Archaeological Survey of India was designated the task of restoration work of the Fort.

Video-

  • Location: Neta ji Subhash marg
  • Nearest Metro: Chandni Chowk
  • Open: Tue-Sun; Mondays closed
  • Time: Sunrise to Sunset
  • Entry fee: 10rupees for Indian 250rupees for foreigner 
  • Photography: Nill
  • Sound and light show: 6pn onwards in Hindi and English
Ticket: 80rs for Adult 30rs for children 


The vaulted arcade of Chatta Chowk, a bazaar selling tourist trinkets, leads into the huge fort compound. Inside is a veritable treasure trove of buildings, including the Drum House, the Hall of Public Audiences, the white marble Hall of Private Audiences, the Pearl Mosque, Royal Baths and Palace of Color.

An evening sound and light show re-creates events in India's history connected with the fort.

Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last ruler from Mughal to inhabit the Red Fort Delhi till 1857, when the uprising gave way for the British to occupy the fort. After the debacle of the rebellion of 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar left the Red Fort in September but was forced to return for the trial in the fort in January 1858, which resulted in him getting exiled in the autumn 1858 from the fort.

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

    Blogger Comment
    Facebook Comment

0 comments:

Post a Comment