Place · Phulkian city fort · India
Qila Mubarak, Patiala
Also known as Patiala, Phulkian citadel, Qila Mubarak, Qila Mubarak — Patiala
The 1763 Qila Mubarak (Blessed Fort) at Patiala in Punjab — the Sikh Phulkian city-fort that gave the city of Patiala its origin. The fort was built by Baba Ala Singh (1691-1765), founder of the Patiala Phulkian dynasty and the first Maharaja of Patiala. Baba Ala Singh had established a small settlement in the 1750s at the site; he began the fort's construction in 1763 after receiving a formal royal status from Ahmad Shah Abdali during the Afghan ruler's 1763 Punjab invasion. The fort is a 10-hectare rectangle with four gates and includes the Rang Mahal (painted palace), the Darbar Hall and the royal apartments. The current structure is 1763 original with 19-20 century renovations. The 2019-2024 Punjab Government restoration project has preserved the Mughal-Sikh hybrid architecture. The fort is ASI protected since 1948.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 30.338, 76.386
Connections (1)
- Same courtSheesh Mahal, Patiala
The Qila Mubarak and the Sheesh Mahal are the two halves of the Phulkian court at Patiala — the city-fort the state grew out of in the eighteenth century, and the painted pleasure palace of the late nineteenth with its mirrored halls and its bridge. The Patiala gharana of Hindustani vocal music was made in the second of them, under rulers who kept musicians on the establishment for four generations.
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Sources
Wikipedia, “Qila Mubarak, Patiala”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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