Red fort or Lal Quila is one of the great historical monuments in India. It is located in centre of the Delhi and was constructed by mughal emperor, Shah Jahaan. It has a big museum, a Diwan-e-Aam (for public audience) and a Diwan-e-Khaas(for meeting purposes). The Red Fort has some major attractions inside the fort. They are as follows:
Red Fort was constructed when the emperor shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi. The amazing build took 10 years to be completed, with its construction starting in 1638 and culminating in 1648.
Red Fort is octagonal shaped and it covers 256 acres of land.
The fort is located beside the river Yamuna. A massive wall was built around the fort to protect it from the external attacks. The wall is build of red sand stone.
The main architects of this monument were Ustad Ahmad and Ustad Hamid. During the times of Mughal, it was called Quila-i-Mubarak.
Another fascinating aspect of the Red Fort is the fact that it housed the beautiful Kohinoor diamond, which was embedded into royal throne of Shah Jahaan, which was located in Diwan-i-Khaas. The precious stone was later stolen by Nadir Shah and today is a part of Royal Crown collection of England.
In 2007, it was declared UNESCO world heritage site.
Every year, on 15 August, the day India achieved independence from British, the Indian prime minister hoists the national flag here, followed by a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts.
At the end of the Mughal rule, Red Fort was taken over by the British, who stripped it off its valuables and sold them. They also destroyed the structure within the building.
The fort has two main entrances- Lahori Gate and Delhi Gate.
The Red Fort was originally white. According to Archaeological Survey of India, parts of the building were made of lime stone. When the white stone started chipping off, the building was painted red by the British.
