5/5 Beigh “Muxxe” M. 5 years ago on Google
Sher
Garhi
Palace is
a
former palace in Srinagar, Jammu
&
Kashmir.
The
complex
is
located
in
the
south
of
the Old
City at
the
banks
of
the Jhelum
river.
It
was
the
residence
of
the
Afghan
rulers
and Dogra Maharajas
of
Jammu
and
Kashmir.
The
name
Sher
Garhi
means
'Tiger
fortress'.
Construction
of
a fortress and
palace
started
in
1772
under
the
Afghan
governor Jawansher
Khan.
As
location
the
governor
chose
the
(former)
site
where
the Lohara
king Ananta built
his
royal
palace
in
1062-63.
It
is
said
that
stones
for
the
construction
came
from
the
"Pathar
Masjid".
Under
all
Jawansher
Khan's
successors,
both
Afghan
and
Dogra
and
including
the
current
Indian
government,
the
palace
remained
the
main
power
center
in
Kashmir.
During
the
19th
century,
the
palace
was
expanded
several
times.
Around
1900,
the
Jhelum
river
front
of
the
palace
was
reconstructed
in
neoclassical
style
with
corinthian
columns.
The
complex
was
a
good
example
of
blending
English
and
Kashmir
architecture.
The
buildings
in
the
complex
are
quadrangular
in
plan
and
built
entirely
in
stone
with
wooden
doors,
ceilings
and
roofs.
After
the
accession
of
Kashmir
to
India,
the
palace
obtained
the
name
the
“Old
Secretariat”
and
initially
housed
various
administrative
departments
of
the
government
of Jammu
and
Kashmir.
As chief
minister Sheikh
Abdullah apparently
saw
the
palace
as
symbol
of
Dogra
rule,
the
complex
was
slowly
abandoned.
In
the
1970s
and
at
the
start
of
the
21st
century,
the
palace
was
gutted
by
fire
destroying
major
parts.
In
2015,
late
former
chief
minister Mufti
Mohammad
Sayeed announced
that
the
complex
would
be
restored
to
its
original
glory
in
order
to
conserve
heritage
monuments
and
attract
heritage
loving
tourists
to
Kashmir.
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