Red Fort was a fort built by Mughal Emperor from red sandstone situated in Delhi and which served the purpose of residence to the Mughal Emperors.
Red Fort is situated in Delhi and is one of the nation’s pride. This place is still used by the Indian Government for flag hoisting in case of national festivals like Republic Day or Independence Day.
Red Fort Information
| Place | – | Netaji Subhash Marg, Lal Qila, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi |
| Built in | – | 12th May 1639 – 6 April 1648; (it took 8 years, 10 months and 25 days) |
| Architect | – | Ustad Ahmad Lahouri |
| Architectural styles | – | Indo-Islamic architecture, Mughal architecture |
| Timings | – | All days – (9.30 AM to 4.30 PM) except Monday |
The Red Fort is more famous by the Hindi name “Lal Qila” and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is a very famous tourist destination in India and especially in Delhi.
Delhi is full of Mughal architecture monuments and Red Fort is one of the biggest Tourist visiting Delhi has the name of Red Fort on the top of their list.
History of Red Fort
Red Fort was originally built by Mughal Emperor “Shah Jahan” who also built the famous “Taj Mahal”. It was built in the 17th century and served the purpose of a fort. It was the home of Mughal emperors.
Delhi was the capital of India even during the Mughal reign and the Red Fort was their fort or residence.
In fact, it was the residence of Mughal Emperors till 1857 when the last Mughal emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Jafar was defeated by the British. It became a part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the year 2007.
The construction of the Red Fort was started in 1638 and it was completed by the end of 1648. It means that it took only ten years to build such a marvelous building.
It served the purpose of a fort and was, therefore, build to fully protect the inside residence of the emperors from any kind of outside attack or invasion from the enemy army.
It is the Red Fort where every year on Republic Day, The Prime Minister of India hoists the flag and gives a speech to the entire nation. A huge parade is organized which shows demonstration from all states, army, navy as well as Air Force.
The Most important fact about Red Fort is that it is made of red sandstone that is why it is known as the “Red Fort”. Red sandstone was one of the most favorite Mughal buildings materials.
The Architecture of Red Fort
The architecture of the Red Fort is a symbol of Mughal architecture during the reign of Shah Jahan.
Shah Jahan was the original master behind the construction of Red Fort but after him, many Mughal rulers, including Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb also made certain modifications to the architecture of the fort.
Some important changes were made to the architecture after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. After Indian independence, some significant changes have been carried out by the Indian government to restore the fort to its fullest beauty.
Also Read: Monuments of India List
Important buildings situated inside the premises of Red Fort include Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas, Nahr-i-Behisht, Zenana, Moti Masjid, Hayat Baksh Bagh, etc. Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas were the two famous courts.
The first one was where the emperor met with the people and the common man was able to present his problems to his king while the second was the royal parliament where all the ministers of the Mughal Empire met and discussed the state’s problems at their hand.
