Karimkhan Citadel, the most significant and the largest building from Zand era that was built in 1767 AD ordered by Karimkhan. The Citadel was the state capital of Karim Khan and the Zand dynasty and was also their living place. This place was built in 4000 square meter foundation in a land extent of 12,800 square meters.
The brick walls of the building are 12 meters high, and in all four corners of the citadel, there is a tower of about 15 meters high. On the walls and towers, simple and beautiful brick images can be seen. On the entrance of the citadel, the scene of “Rustam killing the White Demon” has been illustrated with seven colored tiled works. This tiled work had been added to the citadel in Qajarieh era.
A vestibule forms the entrance to the citadel, opens into the backyard from one side and to internal courtyard of the citadel from the other side. The citadel contains northern alcove (winter stay), Southern alcove (summer stay), and a four seasons western building. Unlike the exterior, the interior of the building has a more beautiful view.
The interior of rooms are decorated with arabesque, bergamot and flowers and birds patterns. After Zandieh government was overthrown and Qajar dynasty came to power, the citadel became the state capital and chandeg into a place for the establishment of rulers and governors of Fars. It was used as a prison until the early Pahlavi reign.
The building of the citadel is a combination of both military and residential architecture. The inner parts of the citadel with painted porches and rooms, fountains and gardens has a special elegance. Each of the three sides of North, South and West has a porch and six residential rooms on either sides of it. The eastern side includes a private bathroom and some service facilities.
Including a former moat dug around the building, the four fortified towers also had a defensive role of the building. The thickness of the walls is 3 meters at the base and 2.8 meters at the top of the towers. The towers are 15 meters high and are built of brick.
One of the four towers of the citadel is tilted like tower of Pisa, and thus it was considered as one of the tourist attractions in Shiraz. It is important to stop the tilting procedure in terms of technical and engineering concerns. Including a former moat dug around the building, the four fortified towers also had a defensive role of the building. At the base of the wall thickness of 3 mm and above 8/2 meters. The towers are 15 meters high and are built of brick.
Some parts of the decoration of the building, was taken to Tehran by the Qajar dynasty. The citadel was registered in the national heritage index in 1972.
Address: Shohada square, Shiraz, Fars province, Iran
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