Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar

The Shalimar Gardens, Shalimar Bagh also called (Hindi: शालीमार बाग़, Urdu: شالیمار باغ ) in the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, part of the former princely State of Kashmir, are an example of garden design of the Mogul Empire. The word " Shalimar " comes from the Persian language and means as much as the purest of human pleasures.

Edify she let the Mughal emperor Jahangir (* 1569, † 1627 ) from 1616, which was initiated by him a summer residence at Vernag, about 15 kilometers south out of town Srinagar, for his wife Mehrunissa, called Nur Jahan (* 1577, † 1645).

The rectangular designed, aligned in the northeast-southwest direction of the facility, being 12 hectares ( 540 to 183 meters) tall. It consists of four (originally three) terraces, called with a central axis in the form of a water channel, Shah Nahar. It is fed by springs which above the Shalimar Gardens in the hills at the foot of the mountain Bahmak. The canal was dug under the leadership of Ali Mardan Khan, joins the river Ravi with Srinagar. It flows through pools on each terrace, as is the unifying theme and emphasized the centrally located on each terrace in the axis pavilions, of which only one remains today. The gardens also have arranged in regular rows fountain, view from plane axes and rich floral decoration. After flowing through the garden, the watercourse flows into the Dal Lake.

Access to the garden was originally only possible on the water, from the lowest terrace. A Hierarchy of spaces determines the function of each terrace:

• The garden on the lowest terrace was intended for the general public. This lowest terrace, originally named Farah Baksh ( of Pleasing ) is the original garden, which was expanded in the following years upwards. Height of its central axis is the Diwan-i -Am, the public lobby, where the Mughal court held. Your center is a throne of black marble, surrounded by water cascades.
• Only upscale members of the court and special guests of the Moguls were admitted to the next higher terrace with the private garden of the ruler. Its centerpiece is the Diwan-i- Khas, the private audience hall. She was also surrounded by water features, however, is obtained only as foundation.
• Two small pavilions behind the hall guarding the access to the upper third part of the garden, called Zenana. This most private garden terrace from below is not visible, was reserved for the royal harem, the women of the court. Its main object is a Baradari, a pavilion made ​​of black marble with twelve doors in a large basin of water with numerous water fountains. Behind this gazebo covered a double water cascade down a low wall, are let into the small niches.

After completion of the gardens of the Client shall the Persian proverb "If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, here, here! " have cited. Another called Garden Terrace, Faiz Baksh, let create eleven years later, in 1634, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan ( 1628-1658 ) by the then Governor of Kashmir, Zaffer Khan, northeast of it.

The Shalimar Gardens were a model of several other gardens of the same name, in particular the resulting 1640 Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.