Arg-e KArim Khani

Karim khan fortress of Shiraz

🕑 3 minute read
Constructions: Citadel or locally called Arg-e karim khani, is a 4000 square meter building located in a large compound of 12800 square meter. It is surrounded and fortified with twelve meters tall walls. In the corners of the walls, four fourteen meters round shaped supporting towers are constructed as observation spots.

These walls and towers are constructed and decorated with baked bricks. Seven colored tile works displaying attractive patterns including legendary tales are decorating on façade of eastern gate of the citadel. These tile works are additional decorations from Qajar era.

Moreover, it has impressive plaster works and wooden windows too inside each room and palace. They represent Persian paintings and architectures especially flowers & Birds (Gol-e Morghi) that is a local design and was expanded in Esfahan in later centuries.

This citadel consists 3 seasonal palaces in north, south and west of building that were all connected to each other. Karim Khan was an architect too and he was of the opinion that he should decorate his palace in Persian style. This is the reason that there are small (Andarooni) & Big (Birouni) rooms in this palace aside from 4 quarters gardens in its courtyard.

From architectural point of view, this is one of the most impressive historical building of Shiraz in terms of having several buildings in every corner of the citadel as well as gardening that was called Nazar. However, just the tiny part of the garden is remained around Kolah Farangi palace but the rest of monuments are well preserved and renovated by local artists over the last decades.

Yearly, several domestic and foreign tourists visit this attraction in the center of Shiraz. In fact, this is the largest and the most outstanding complex of Zand area. As travel consultants, we would highly recommend visiting monument in our guided tours of Shiraz in order to get acquainted with local culture and history of the Zand dynasty.