Lahore Fort and Shalimar Garden

Name of the World Heritage Site:

Fort and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore

Date of inscription onto World Heritage List:

1981

Country:

Pakistan

 Region:

Lahore, Punjab

 Local Authority:

Department of Archaeology, Government of the Punjab

These are two masterpieces from the time of the brilliant Mughals civilization, which reached its height during the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan. The fort contains marble palaces and mosques decorated with mosaics and gilt. The elegance of these splendid gardens, built near the city of Lahore on three terraces with lodges, waterfalls and large ornamental ponds, is unequaled.

The inscribed property includes two distinct royal complexes, the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, both located in the City of Lahore, at a distance of 7 km. from each other. The two complexes one describe by monumental design and the other by extensive water gardens are outstanding examples of Mughal creative expression at its height, as it evolved during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Lahore Fort, situated in the north-west corner of the Walled City of Lahore, occupies a site which has been occupied for several millennia. Assuming its present configuration all through the 11th century, the Fort was damaged and rebuilt several times by the early Mughals during the 13th to the 15th centuries. The 21 monuments which carry on to exist within its limits comprise an outstanding repertory of the forms of Mughals structural design from the reign of Akbar (1542-1605), characterized by uniform masonry of baked brick and red sandstone courses relieved by Hindu motifs including zoomorphic corbels, throughout that of Shah Jahan (1627-58), characterized by the use of luxurious marbles, inlays of expensive materials and mosaics, set within exuberant decorative motifs of Persian begin

Akbar’s efforts are exemplified in the Masjidi Gate flanked by two bastions and the Khana-e-Khas-o-Am (Public and Private Audience Hall). Akbar’s descendant, Jahangir, ended the great north court (1617-18) begin by Akbar and, in 1624-25, decorated the north and north-west walls of the castle. Shah Jahan added a fairytale-like complex of buildings near the Court of Shah Jahan (Diwan-e-Kas, Lal Burj, Khwabgah-e-Jahangiri, and the Shish Mahal, 1631-32, one of the best-looking palaces in the world, luminous with mosaics of glass, gilt, semi-precious stones and marble screening).

The Shalimar Gardens cover 16 hectares and is set in three terraces descending from the south to the north. The regular plan, enclosed by a crenelated wall of red stonework, disposes square beds on the upper and lower terrace and extended blocks on the narrower, in-between terrace; within, stylish pavilions balance pleasantly arranged poplar and cypress trees, reflect in the vast basins of water.

Criterion (1):

The 21 monuments potted within the limits of Lahore Fort comprise an outstanding repertory of the forms of Mughals architecture at its artistic and aesthetic height, from the time in power of Akbar (1542-1605) through the reign of Shah Jahan (1627-58). Equally the Shalimar Gardens, laid out by Shah Jahan in 1641-2 embodies Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development. Both complexes together may be understood to constitute a masterpiece of human original genius.

Criterion (2):

 The Mughal forms, motifs, and designs developed at Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens have been influenced by design innovation in other royal Mughal enclaves but have also exerted great influence in subsequent centuries on the development of artistic and aesthetic expression throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Criterion (3):

 The design of the monuments of Lahore Fort and the features of the Shalimar Gardens bears a unique and exceptional testimony to the Mughal civilization at the height of its artistic and aesthetic accomplishments, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Integrity (2011)

The inclusion by the World Heritage Committee of the originally separate Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens nominations in a single inscribed property in 1981 broadened the range of design expressions - from monumental structures to water gardens - representing Mughal artistic and aesthetic achievements included in the property and enhanced the overall integrity of the property. Both of the complexes in the inscription as they survive today are complete in and of themselves; the Lahore Fort complex includes all 21 surviving monuments within the defined Fort boundaries, and the Shalimar Gardens includes all of the various water terraces and pavilions within its enclosing wall.

However, missions to the property (2003, 2005, 2009) have noted that the Badshahi Masjid (Royal Mosque) and the Tomb of Ranjit Singh, although located outside the Fort proper form an integral part of its physical and historical context, and suggested their inclusion within the inscribed property would enhance its integrity.

Authenticity (2011)

The property, in general, maintains the authentic layout, forms, design and substance of both complexes and the constituent layouts, elements and features associated with the Mughal artistic and aesthetic expressions of the 16th and 17th century. Maintaining authenticity of workmanship necessitates that contemporary repair and conservation work use and revive traditional techniques and materials.

However authenticity of function and of setting has been eroded over time: the original function of these royal complexes has been replaced by public visitation and tourism, and the larger set of both complexes now accommodates the traffic circulation and functional needs of the contemporary city of Lahore.