page_title: Architecture of Lahore
section_title: Sikh architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Lahore / Sikh architecture
caption_attribution_description: Grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Nau Nihal Singh's haveli, now Victoria Girls High School, Lahore.
context_page_description: The Architecture of Lahore reflects the history of Lahore and is remarkable for its variety and uniqueness. There are buildings left from the centuries ago rule of the Mughal Dynasty, the Sikh Empire, as well as from the era of the British Raj, whose style is a mixture of Victorian and Islamic architecture often referred to as Indo-Gothic. In addition, there are newer buildings which are very modern in their design. An interesting point about Lahore's architecture is that unlike the emphasis on functional architecture in the west, much of Lahore's architecture has always been about making a statement as much as anything else. Lahore art has always been popular worldwide and thus it lures tourists from all over the world.
  The old city houses a number of Lahore architecture, which have a strong influence of the Mughal style. Department of archaeology has excavated many architectural remains of the buildings that were built during the rule of Rama of Ayodhya. Thus it can be said that though most of the buildings of Lahore carry Muslim heritage, there are a few structures, which have the influence of other religions such as Sikhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism.
context_section_description: Sikh Architecture, is a style of architecture that is characterised with values of progressiveness, exquisite intricacy, austere beauty and logical flowing lines. This form of architecture was initially developed within Sikhism its style is used in many non-religious building due its beauty. 300 years ago, Sikh architecture was distinguished for its many curves and straight lines, Shri Keshgarh Sahib and the Golden Temple are prime examples and history of a gurdwara.
  Apart from buildings of religious order, Sikh architecture has secular types of forts, palaces, bungas (residential places), colleges, etc. The religious structure is the gurdwara, a place where the Guru dwells. A gurdwara is not only the all-important building of the Faith, as masjid or mosque of the Islamic faith and mandir or temple of the Hindu religion, but it is also, like its Islamic and Hindu counterparts, the keynote of Sikh architecture.
  The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is located near the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction was started by his son, Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by his youngest son, Duleep Singh in 1848. The tomb exemplifies Sikh architecture, it is gilded fluted domes and cupolas and an ornate balustrade round the top. Ranjit Singh's ashes are contained in a marble urn in the shape of a lotus, sheltered under a marble pavilion inlaid with pietra dura, in the centre of the tomb. Two small monuments to the west of the main mausoleum commemorate Ranjit Singh's son Kharak Singh and grandson Nau Nihal Singh, and their wives.
caption: The former haveli of Nau Nihal Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, Lahore
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