Location of Nagaur Fort, History of Nagaur Fort, Architecture of Nagaur Fort, Visiting Hours in Nagaur Fort.
Location of Nagaur Fort:
This ancient and magnificent Fort is also known as Ahhichatragarh Fort. It is located at the centre of the Nagaur City, District Nagaur, Rajasthan.
History of Nagaur Fort:
It was earlier a most dependable foothold on the trunk routes of Sindh and Multan into the Gangetic plain and Gujarat. This mud Fort was built in the 2nd Century A.D. by the Nagavanshis and was rebuilt in stone, over the mound of the ancient mud Fort, in the early 12th Century A.D. by Mohammad Bahlim, the Governor of Ghaznivites.
It has witnessed many battles fought for its possession and has remained at different times in occupation of early Chauhans, Chalukayas, Prithviraj Chauhan, Mohammad Ghazni, Mohammad Ghori, Sultan Iltutmish, Sultan Balban, Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilzi, Hammir Chauhan of Ranthambor, the Khanjada and Lodhi dynasties, Sher Shah Suri and finally, the Mughals. After the fall of the Mughal dynasty, it was controlled by the Rathores of Jodhpur and Bikaner. After India’s independence in 1947, when all the Princely States merged into the union of India, it became the private property of the then Maharaja Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur.
In the year 1952, it was rented to the State Government of Rajasthan and was used by the District Administration and later on by the Border Security Force of India. Many temporary partitions having doors and windows were built during this period. In the year 1972, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur created ‘The H.H. Hanwant Singhji Charitable Trust’ and transferred the property to it. The ‘Mehrangarh Museum Trust’, created by Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur, started the renovation of the Fort Complex in 1985 and it removed all the temporary structures built during Government occupation. The repair work was successfully completed in 2002 and the Fort is currently being managed by the ‘Mehrangarh Museum Trust’.
Architecture of Nagaur Fort:
The rampart walls of this spacious Fort encircle an area of 370 m x 400 m and are visible from any part of the City. Its design is a fine blend of the Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture. It has three gates – Sireh pol which is the outermost gate having heavy wooden doors with iron spikes to prevent elephant charge, Beech Ka Pol is the second gate and Kacheri Pol is the third gate near which judicial court was held in old times.
The Palaces and the other plastered stone buildings including Baradaris cover an area of 200 m x 220 m, are located at the centre of the Fort Complex and are built 6 m higher than the surrounding areas of gates and walls. These structures along with the main water tanks and gardens are spread over an area of about 53144 Sq.m. Most of these surviving structures have been built in the 17th and 18th Centuries and have protecting Jharokhas, cusped bracketed arches and carved stone jaalies.
The Palaces are mainly double-storeyed except for the Hadi Rani Palace which is triple-storeyed. The Palaces have open spaces on all the four sides and all the buildings are linked with each other by the water systems, gardens, water tanks, underground storages, aqueducts, wells, step-wells and open courtyards. The open spaces are oriented towards the Northwest and the Southeast, offering cool breeze during Summers and the warm Winter Sun.
The Hadi Rani Palace is adorned with exquisite wall paintings and impressive frescoed ceiling. The Abha Mahal also has extensive and beautiful wall paintings, while the Deepak Mahal is ornamented with beautiful floral designs on its walls. The Amar Singh Mahal was built as a tribute to Amar Singh Rathore.
The Akbari Mahal was built to commemorate the recapturing of Nagaur Fort by the Mughals from the Governor of Ajmer in 1556 A.D. It is adorned with beautiful mirror work. The splendidly built Bhakt Singh Palace is named after Bhakt Singh, the ruler of Nagaur in the first half of the 18th Century A.D. He had killed his father to enable his elder brother Abhay Singh to become the ruler of Jodhpur and as a reward for the foul deed, he himself became the ruler of Nagaur. The Fort Complex also houses many Temples, and a Mosque built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Visiting Hours in Nagaur Fort:
The WelcomHeritage group of Hotels establishes WelcomHeritage Royal Camp within the Fort Complex from October to March every year providing accommodation and other facilities to tourists in luxury tents at tariffs as fixed by the group.
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