Barood Khana

(Conservation 2018-19)

After ages of neglect the structure has been restored by the Walled City of Lahore Authority and is opened for the tourists.

This building is the Barood Khana of Lahore Fort, which means an arsenal depot. Since partition it was hidden and later with the passage of time it got buried under loads of debris and waste. The building was abandoned and was suffering through serious neglect and damage when the walled city of Lahore authority started removing almost thousands of cubic feet of debris from it and finally the wonder was revealed.

This building was built in 1857 during British era, for the purpose of storing gun powders. In this depot, British had been storing the gun powders as well as all kinds of arsenal. According to historic map of Lahore Fort, it was found that there was a garden with arcades around before construction of Barood Khana. The structure was the part of Alamgiri Gate and Musamam Darwaza of Lahore Fort and later during the British Era a road was constructed in between to connect the Hathi Gate with Diwan-e-Aam. Before road it was a complex and this same road we use today to enter in the Lahore Fort.

The entire structure of the Barood Khana was suffering from severe threat and damages and the building also had bulging plaster, missing or dismantled brick masonry, missing cornices, damages in wooden doors and ventilators, blackish surface and graffiti inside the building. The doors and windows were seen totally injured because of aging factor, termites, others woodworms and especially because it was never paid any attention in the past.