Agra Fort

The Red Fort in the northern Indian city of Agra is a fortress and palace from the era of the Mughal Emperor and served in the 16th and 17th centuries, with interruptions as the residence of the Mughals. The Red Fort was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. A part of the site is used by the military today and is not open to the public.

Location

The Red Fort of Agra is situated on a partly natural ( river bank ), heaped partly man-made hill on the banks of the Yamuna River and is only about 2.5 kilometers from the Taj Mahal.

History

The construction of the fort was in 1565 under Akbar the Great, who had move the capital from Delhi here recorded, and expanded under his successors, especially under Shah Jahan, in the first half of the 17th century. The Walling was already completed in 1571. Palaces were not built because Akbar a short time later ( 1572) in Fatehpur Sikri founded a new capital, which, however, he also gave up soon to reside in Lahore. While Akbar was mainly built in red sandstone from Barauli in Rajasthan, Shah Jahan preferred white marble decorations, glass and semi-precious stones as building material. In 1648 the capital was moved back to Delhi, the Red Fort which also lost its importance. After seizing power in 1658 put Aurangzeb his father Shah Jahan in the Red Fort of Agra under house arrest, where this also died in 1666.

1803 was occupied by British troops. During the Indian rebellion of 1857 the Red Fort was one of the places of armed conflict.

Architecture

The entire fort complex has a crescent- shaped plan and is surrounded by up to 21 meters high wall, whose circumference is 2.4 kilometers. The wall is at its core, like the majority of enclosed building, made ​​of brick and covered with red sandstone slabs. From this red sandstone slabs also the name of the fort stirred only two major gates, the Delhi Gate and the Lahore Gate, grant inlet to the huge area. Inside are representative palaces from the time of Shah Jahan, mosques and gardens. The architectural style harmoniously combines elements of Islamic and Hindu architecture.

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