Junagarh Fort Bikaner

Brief History 

Rao Bika the son of Rao Jodha of Jodhpur founded Bikaner in 1472.The foundation of the fort was laid by Rao Bika in 1478.But it was a small structure .

Then the current fort was build by Raja Rai Singh the sixth ruler of Bikaner under the supervision of Karan Chand, the Prime Minister of Raja Rai Singh. Construction of the walls and associated moat commenced in 1589 and was completed in 1594. It was built outside the original fort of the city (the first fort built by Rao Bika), about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the city centre. Some remnants of the old fort are preserved near the Lakshmi Narayan temple.

The  large fort complex  houses palaces, temples and museums. These buildings depict a composite culture, manifest in the mix of architectural styles.

Story behind name of Fort

 Junagarh Fort is a fort in the city of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort.Bikaner is also famous for a favourite snacks called "Bhujia".It is very delicious snacks.

Junagarh Fort

Coordinates

28.02°N 73.32°E

Controlled by

Government of Rajasthan

History of Bikaner after Maharaja Rai Singh Ji

Karan Singh who ruled from 1631 to 1639, under the suzerainty of the Mughals, built the Karan Mahal palace. Later rulers added more floors and decorations to this Mahal. 

Anup Singh, who ruled from 1669 to 1698, made substantial additions to the fort complex, with new palaces and the Zenana quarter (royal dwelling for females). He refurbished the Karan Mahal with a Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall) and called it the Anup Mahal. 

Gaj Singh who ruled from 1746 to 1787 refurbished the Chandra Mahal (the Moon palace). 

Following him, Surat Singh ruled from 1787 to 1828 and he lavishly decorated the audience hall (see picture in info box) with glass and lively paintwork. 

Dungar Singh who reigned from 1872 to 1887 built the Badal Mahal (the weather palace) named so in view of a painting of falling rain and clouds (a rare event in arid Bikaner).

 Ganga Singh (Bhagirath of Bikaner)who ruled from 1887 to 1943 built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob.

Ganga Singh's son Sadul Singh succeeded his father in 1943 but acceded to the Union of India in 1949. He died in 1950.

Bikaner came under the suzerainty of the British Raj under a treaty of paramountcy signed in 1818, whereafter the Maharajas of Bikaner invested heavily on refurbishing their Junagarh fort.However, during the 18th century, before this treaty was signed, there was internecine war between rulers of Bikaner and Jodhpur and also amongst other Thakur, which was put down by the British troops. It is reported that during the attack by Jodhpur army, of the two entrances to the fort (one in the east and the other in the west), the eastern entrance and the southern rampart were damaged; marks of cannonballs fired are seen on the southern façade of the fort.

Ganga Singh was the best-known king among the Rajasthan princes. A favourite of the British Raj, he earned the title of Knight Commander of the Star of India. He served as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, represented the country at the Imperial First World War Conferences and the British Empire at the Versailles Peace Conference and was aware of the shift of fortunes in the World War II but died in 1943, before the war was won by the allies. His contribution to the building activity in Junagarh involved separate halls for public and private audience in the Ganga Mahal and a durbar hall for formal functions. The hall where he held his Golden Jubilee as a ruler of Bikaner is now a museum. He also got a new palace – north of Junagarh fort – designed and built by Swinton, the third of the new palaces built in Bikaner and named it Lalgarh Palace in the name of his father and shifted his residence from Junagarh fort to this palace in 1902. The royal family still lives in a special suite in the Lalgarh palace, which they have converted into a heritage hotel.

Architecture 

The structures built within the Junagarh fort are the palaces and temples, which are made of red sandstone (Dulmera) and marble. The palaces are described as picturesque with their assortment of courtyards, balconies, kiosks and windows. The fort, the temples and the palaces are preserved as museums and provide insight into the grandiose living style of the past Maharanas of Rajasthan. The fort is called "a paradox between medieval military architecture and beautiful interior decoration".

Intricate design inside the  fort

The massive fort built in the plains of Bikaner has a rectangular (quadrangular) layout with a peripheral length of 1,078 yards (986 m). The fort walls are 14.5 feet (4.4 m) wide and 40 feet (12 m) in height. It encompasses an area of 63,119 square yards (5.28 ha). It was surrounded by a moat which was 20–25 feet (6.1–7.6 m) deep with a base width of 15 feet (4.6 m) and top width of 30 feet (9.1 m).However, the moat no longer exists. The fort is well fortified with 37 bastions (‘burj’ in local language) and seven gates (two are main gates) to counter enemy attacks. The fort was built as a "new stronghold" outside of the ruins of an old fort built by Rao Bika and on the periphery of the Bikaner city walls (1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the city centre);the old fort was demolished a century after it was built.

The fort with seven gates contains several palaces, pavilions and many temples of Hindu and Jain religions – the earliest dated to the 16th century.A major feature of the fort is the stone carving done in red and gold coloured sandstones. The interiors of the palaces are decorated and painted in traditional Rajasthani style. The Junagarh palaces have a large number of rooms, as every king built his own separate set of rooms, not wanting to live in his predecessors’ rooms. These structures were considered "at par with those of Louis’s France or of Imperial Russia".Several types of architectural style are discerned in the fort complex and hence it is called a true depiction of composite culture. The earliest style is of Rajput architecture, defined by Gujarati and Mughal architectural influence reflecting the association with Mughal rulers, the second type is of semi-western architecture reflecting British influence, and finally the revivalists Rajput architecture that evolved particularly during the rule of Maharaja Ganga Singh. Only the most representative of all these architectural styles are on display for visitors. Thus, the unique monuments on display in the Junagarh Fort represent sixteen successive generations of the rulers of Bikaner, starting from the end of the 16th century. between the main gate and the palace, there is a quadrangle, and then another gate called the Tripolia gate (triple gateway) before accessing the royal chambers. Next to this gate is a small temple called the Har Mandir, where the royal family used to offer worship. In the quadrangle, which houses a large pavilion with a water pool built in Carrara Italian marble. The Karan Mahal, where public audience was held in the Diwan-i-Am by Karan Singh (1631–39) and his successors till the 20th century, can also be seen in the same quadrangle.

Trust

Maharaja Rai Singhji Trust has been set up by the 'royal family of Bikaner' with the basic objective to showcase the fort with professional inputs in various areas and to improve the experience for visitors. Another objective is to promote education and research scholarships, cultural activities, setting up of libraries and integration with other such trusts.