Karimkhan Citadel
Karim Khan Citadel is located in the center of Shiraz. This citadel was built during the reign of Zandiyeh dynasty. After Karim Khan Zand choosed Shiraz as the capital city of the country and the place to live, it was known as Karim Khan Citadel.
During the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, it was used as a prison, so it has been damaged.
In 1971, this citadel was handed over to the Culture and Art Department of the time. This large building is now managed under the supervision of the Cultural Heritage Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the restoration work of this building has started a few years ago to be used as a large museum in Fars province. This work was registered as one of the national works of Iran on June 3, 1972 with the registration number 918.
History of Karim Khan Zand citadel building
Features of Karimkhan Citadel
The construction of Karim Khan Zand citadel was done between 1766 and 1767 AD and Karim Khan used the best architects of his time to build it. He also procured the best materials from inside and outside the country and completed the construction of the building quickly. This building was used in the Zandiyeh dynasty as the inhabitance of government and in Qajar dynasty as the residence of local governors. Abdolhossein Mirza Farmanfarma, the ruler of Persia, ordered the reconstruction of the miniatures painted in this building.
Karim Khan Citadel architecture
The architecture of Karim Khan Citadel is such that it is located on the west side of the courtyard of the main hall, which was Karim Khan's house and resting place. There are two tall wooden pillars in this hall, but it is said that in the past, instead of wooden pillars, there were two stone pillars that were brought to Tehran by Mohammad Khan Qajar to build Golestan Palace.
In addition to military use, this place has been used in different periods such as Zandiyeh dynasty which was used as king’s inhabitance place, and in Pahlavi which was used as a prison.
If we look at this castle from above, it has a trapezoidal shape, which is said to be due to the poor quality of the soil of that piece of land to build such a magnificent building.
Each castle has watchtowers, Karim Khan Citadel is equipped with 4 tall watchtowers with a height of 14 meters. If you look at the towers of this castle, you will notice that one of the towers of Karim Khan Citadel is clearly crooked.
Some people consider this skew to be due to the subsidence of the earth over the years and its destruction, and some people believe that it was intentionally skewed, so it is technically and engineeringly important. It is not possible to visit inside the towers, but it is interesting to know what is inside these towers. Inside these towers there is a staircase that is circularly stretched to the top of the tower.
There are also two rooms, one used for guards to rest and the other for weapons.
This building, which is one of the most prominent architectural works of the Zandiyeh era, attracts many tourists every year. In 1971, this citadel was handed over to the Cultural Heritage Organization and its restoration began a few years ago, and it is planned to be used as a large Persian museum after the completion of the restoration.
Tags: tour, Fars Province, Fars Attractions, citadel, shiraz, shiraz attractions, historcal tour, tourist attraction, Karim Khan Zand, Iran tourist attractions, karimkhan citadel
