Haveli Nau Nihal Singh

History

Nau Nihal Singh was the son of Kharak Singh and grandson of Ranjit Singh. He became Maharaja of the Sikh Empire in 1839 on his father's death and died the following year, aged nineteen, when masonry fell on him as he passed under the Roshnai Gate returning from his father's cremation — a death still widely regarded as suspicious. After the British annexed Punjab in 1849 they took the haveli over and turned it into the Victoria School, the first public school for girls in the city. Its forty rooms have housed the Government Victoria Girls' High School since 1887.

Historical Significance

Almost nothing of Sikh-period domestic Lahore survives intact. This does — frescoes, mirrorwork, jharokas and the Rang Mahal — precisely because it was put to continuous use rather than abandoned.

Architecture

Among the most magnificent buildings of Sikh-period Lahore, built by Nau Nihal Singh, son of Maharaja Kharak Singh, as his private residence. It holds numerous spacious chambers, halls and balconies;

Why Visit

A maharaja's mansion that has been a girls' school for longer than it was ever a home, with its painted and mirrored ceilings still in place.

Interesting Facts

• Ranjit Singh built it for his grandson in the 1830s, inside Mori Gate
• Nau Nihal Singh ruled for about a year and died at nineteen under the Roshnai Gate
• The British converted it into Lahore's first public school for girls after annexing Punjab in 1849
• Its forty rooms have been a working school since 1887