Historical Places in Hisar

Hisar was laid by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1354. He adorned his new town with several buildings, including Firoz Shah Palace, which were completed in 1356. The palace complex is situated on the north-west side of the citadel, and appears to have originally been connected to a large garden to the north. The remain of the Firoz Shah Palace are located in the fort where underground apartments still exist in good state of preservation. Its arches are supported on red sandstone pillars, carved in low relief, extricated from destroyed Hindu temples and reused here. The palace complex consists of an open courtyard on the sides of which are placed two to three storeyed structures.

In view of its historical and architectural importance, Firoz Shah Palace Complex was declared as a monument of national importance vide notification no. 11078 dated 9th April, 1924. It is now under the control of Archaeological Survey of India, chandigarch Circle. The Archaeological Survey of India has recently discovered its underground rooms. The monument is now maintained in a better way.

An important historical mounment of Hisar. constructed by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1354, is the Laat ki Masjid, It was the main mosque of the palace complex. The mosque of called after the laat, an ancient column re-erected in the north-east of its courtyard. as the complex of the Maszid contains three parts like the prayerhall, the laat or the pillar and the domed building. Its hall 80x21' having 40 pillars.

The main prayer hall has nine bays.

Within the courtyard, placed to the north-east is a laat after which the mosque is named as the Laat Ki Maszid.

The laat consists of two parts, lower one is of buff lime stone and the uppar portion is that of red sandstone.

Behind the laat, stands beautiful domed building having a square chamber showing moulded and panelled decorations in red sandstone.

There are two passages of narrwo steps,one from outside and the other from inside, leading down to the undeground square chamber.

Besides the combination of these buildings, the laat Ki Maszid had a large reservoir of water to the east side of its platform. It was an 'L' shaped ablution tank. In a nutshell, the Laat Ki Maszid was the main mosque of Sultan Firoz in Hisar. Though by now it has been partly damaged, yet it reminds us about Firoz's love for Architecture.

The City of Hisar can never forget the Gujar girls (Gujari) who was probably chieflyresponsible for the establishment of the city itself. The mounment of Gujri Mahal may be destroyed with the passege of time, but her name shell ever be remembered by the coming generations of Hisar. Being one of the most important mounments of Hisar, the Gujri Mahal also called the Baradari(a building with baara darwaze).

Situated outside the fort, the Gujri Mahal was built by Sultan Firoz Shah Tuglaq for his beloved Gujri, a native of Hisar, with whom he fell in love during the course of one of his hunting expeditions.

Its construction work was completed in 1356.

The Gujri Mahal stands on a massive rectangular plateform, built of rubble and mortar. It was perhaps originally on the side of a reservior.

The Plateform of the Gujri Mahal has two square projections on the eastern side in the form of two towers, and through the platform runs a water channel with its own storage tank.

There are also nine graves on the platform, seven of which are sarcophagi, two of them with brick shrines. All the graves appear to be of a much later period, probably 17th or 18th century, and do not seem to have any connection with the original function of the structure. The Gujri Mahal seems to have been built as an airy retreat, away from the complex of Firoz Shah Palace, enjoying views over the gardens around, and cooled by the water flowing trough the core of the platform.

Is is located on the Delhi Road, adjoining the Hisar Central Jail. The park has Waterfall, which is probably its most attractive point. Formerly, the place was meant for a shooting range. The Park's designers decided not to dismantle the structure. But, with a few changes, they developed it into a beautiful Waterfall. While inaugurating the Park, the chier guest of the function, having seen the Waterfall, rightly remarked, "Golion ki surakhon ki jagah, jiharana bah raha hai."

In the heart of the Park, there is a 'musical fountain'. It activates by sound. Bright coloured lights illuminate the water feature to the accomplishment of soothing music. It is a favourite spot for the visitors, especially children who love to claphere to activate the fountain.

As the park is situated on a focal point of the city, it is quite accessible to the residents in thousands. It is daily visited by several hundred of people, particularly women, children and old men, in the morning and evening alike. On different occasions, the Park also holds public functions like flower-shows, dog-shows, etc. In a nutshell, the Town Park is a boon for the residents of Hisar.

It is true that the Town Park is blessed with numerous facilities, but it does not mean that ist lacks nothing. It is a matter of regret that the Park which visited by thousands of residents, especially on Sundays and Holidays, hasnot even a single urinal, and has no arrangement for drinking water. Secondly, the city has numerous speed-brakers here and there, but not even a single one near the main roads of Town Pard which are heavily used by vehicles, apart from hundreds of pedestrians!

One of the most important religious places of Hisar is Shri Devi Bhawan Mandir. As Hisar was ruled by the Sikhs between the period of 1768 to 1781, it is thus believed that the present Devi Bhawan Mandir was the Maharaja Amar Singh of the Patiala in or around 1770. It was constructed on the bank of the branch of the West Jamuna Canal. As the days went by, the importance of the Mandir increased considerably.

According to some report, at the time of the formation, the Mandir had four murtis of Kali Mata, Durga Mata, Bhairon Baba and Mahadev's Family. To begin with, the Mandir-complex weas surrounded by a water tank. Subsequently, ten more murtis of different gods and goddesses wear.