Red Fort

The Red Fort ( Urdu لال قلعہ Lal Quila ) in the northern Indian city of Delhi is a fortress and palace from the era of the Mughal Empire. It was built in 1639-1648 for the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and since 2007 belongs to the world cultural heritage by UNESCO. It took its name from the characteristic red color of the sandstone used for the fortification walls.

Location and extent

The Red Fort is located on the eastern edge of Old Delhi ( Shahjahanabad ). The fortress area stretches along the right bank of the Yamuna earlier, but a few hundred meters to the east flows today. From north to south it takes nearly a kilometer in the east- west extension of about 500 meters. It was originally designed as a rectangle with an aspect ratio 3:4 with beveled corners. In fact, it jumps to the north produced triangular, since the ambient wall would have otherwise formed an acute angle with the old bed of the river Yamuna, which formed a small arc at this point. A massive wall surrounds the grounds. The east, west and south side of the wall is exactly aligned to the cardinal directions.

History

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1658 / 59) left the Red Fort as imperial residence in the newly founded by him capital Shahjahanabad, now Old Delhi, built by the architects Hamid and Ahmad. The foundation stone was laid on the 9th of Muharram 1048 (23 May 1638). The actual construction began a year later and was completed in 1648. Shah Jahan's successor, Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707 ) was to reinforce the beginning of his reign, the two entrance gates of the fortress by outworks and extended the palace area around a mosque. A portion of the original structure was destroyed by the Persians and Afghans in the 18th century during the sack of Delhi. After the defeat of the Indian rebellion of 1857 and the dismissal of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, took over in 1858, the British army destroyed the fort and some of the pavilions and gardens in order to set up a garrison can. 1947 took over the Indian Army, the Fort, but withdrew from it in 2003 back. Today, the Red Fort is one of the most visited monuments of India. On 28 June 2007, UNESCO put the whole fortress and palace complex in its model list of world cultural heritage worthy of protection.

Architecture

Fortifications

The Red Fort is surrounded by between 18 meters ( on the river side ) and 34 meters ( on the city side ) high, crenellated wall reinforced by a total of 2.4 kilometers in length and a ditch. The trench originally referred water from the Yamuna, but is now dry. Jumping out of the fortress wall at regular intervals produced semi-circular bastions. The two entrances, the Lahore Gate in the west and the Delhi Gate South are secured by a respective rectangular Vorwerk. Each Vorwerk consists of a courtyard, which is accessible via a valve disposed at a right angle to the fortress wall gate. The actual entrance gates to the fortress inside facing the courtyard. They are three storeys and are flanked by octagonal towers with roof pavilion ( Chattris ).

Public sector

From the Lahore Gate leads a vaulted bazaar street, the Chatta Chowk, in west-east direction to the unmarked Naqqar Khana or Naubat Khana ( " drum house" ), a three-story, square gatehouse of red sandstone, its decorated with flower tendrils exterior walls originally gilded partly were. Here guests of the emperor were received. On the first floor gallery played five times a day Musicians for the Mogul emperor or to the guests welcome. From Naqqar from Khana led two more bazaar streets to the north and south, of which only the southern, ending at Delhi Gate section is preserved. The northern bazaar had no connection to the located outside the walled city and was therefore may never be finished as a dead end.

East of Naqqar Khana opens onto a large lawn area, in its place was once the walled courtyard of the fortress first. Behind it stands on a terrace, the public audience hall ( Diwan-i Am). Twelve Square sandstone columns subdivide this single-story, open pavilion in nine times three bays, which are spanned by arches prongs. The original painting and gilding of the columns is not obtained. At the far overhanging eaves of the flat roof formerly curtains might be fastened. To the east of the Diwan-i Am a marble wall is retracted, to which the marble throne canopy of the former Mughal rulers inspired. In pietra dura inlay technology crafted bird and flowers, decorate the wall behind the throne.

Palace area

Along the eastern boundary of the Red Fort are the formerly reserved for the imperial family buildings where the imperial private apartments were housed. The palaces are raised to the level of the top financial statements of the eastern fortress wall. Still get are (from north to south) the bathhouse ( hammam ), the beads Mosque ( Moti Masjid ), the private audience hall ( Diwan-i Khas ), the palaces Khas Mahal, Rang Mahal and Mumtaz Mahal, as well as a number of smaller pavilions. Between the Rang Mahal and Mumtaz Mahal existed another palace called Chhoti Baithak, which has the repeated looting and destruction of Delhi, however, does not survive. A marble watercourse, Nahr -i Bihisht ( " channel of Paradise " ) called, combines the palaces together. The water was pumped up in the northeastern corner tower of the Red Fort.

The Bath House is built entirely of white marble and has three magnificent, vaulted bath rooms inside on. Walls and floors are decorated with inlays.

To the west of the bathhouse is the small beads Mosque ( Moti Masjid ), which was built in 1662 from white marble Aurangzeb. Its construction is typical of the Indian Mughal style mosque: About the eastward toward Mecca oriented prayer hall, three onion-shaped domes, whose average the other two towers over charge. A lotus flower-shaped stucco tower and towering metal spikes complete the domes. Before the prayer hall opens a narrow courtyard. From the outside, only the strongly curved domes can be seen as the mosque and its courtyard are surrounded by a high wall square.

The private audience hall ( Diwan-i Khas ) south of the bathhouse is like the Diwan-i Am a rectangular, one-story portico with a flat roof, but is made entirely of white marble. The massive pillars are darker than the delicate sandstone pillars of Diwan-i Am; the precious inlays, gilding and paintings on the pillars and arches and the Chattris at the corners of the flat roof resemble the ponderous impression of but. An outwardly open, zackenbogige gallery surrounded a rectangular space in the middle of the hall. Here received the Mughal emperors high profile personalities to private audiences. On a pedestal in the audience room used to be the golden peacock throne, the Persian ruler Nadir Shah in 1739 stolen from Delhi. He is now considered lost.

Just south of the Diwan-i Khas Khas Mahal, the rather inconspicuous ( " Private palace " ) joins. The one-story marble building housed the private quarters of the Mughal Emperor. To the south, opens an elongated porch that served as living space. Behind them are three bedchambers. The east wall of the Khas Mahal is bordered by a low octagonal tower of the eastern boundary wall, from which every morning showed the people from the Emperor. The tower surrounds today a balcony, which was added in the 19th century.

On the Khas Mahal follows in a southerly direction the Rang Mahal ( "Palace of Colours" ), where the wives of the emperor resided. Such women's quarters were designated Zenana; his proper name was the palace of the obtained only remnants painting the interiors. The Rang Mahal consists of an elongated, one-story hall, the front facade is broken up by five points arches. Two of the six rooms have fitted with mirror shards walls and ceilings; they are therefore referred to as Shish Mahal ( "Palace of Mirrors ").

The southernmost of the palace grounds of the Red Fort is the Mumtaz Mahal ( "Palace of Jewels "). It consists largely of marble and consists of six rooms that were originally painted and also belonged to the Zenana. Today it houses an archaeological museum.