Noor Mahal

city in Jalandhar district

The Noor Mahal is a historic real estate owned by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) under the management of the Army Secretariat in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It was built in 1872 as an Italian chateau on neoclassical lines, at a time when modernism had set in. It belonged to the Nawabs of Bahawalpur princely state, during the British Raj.

Mr. Heennan, an Englishman who was the state engineer, designed the building. The foundation of Noor Palace was laid in 1872. A map and coins of the state were buried in its foundation as a good omen. Most of the palace's materials and furniture were imported from England and Italy. The construction of the palace was completed in 1875 at a cost of Rs. 1.2 million. The palace was leased to the army in 1971; in 1997 the army purchased it for the sum of 119 million.

Noor Palace covers an area of It has 32 rooms including 14 in the basement, 6 verandas and 5 domes. The design encompasses features of Corinthian and Islamic styles of architecture with a tinge of subcontinental style. The Corinthian touch is visible in the columns, balustrade, pediments and the vaulted ceiling of Durbar Hall. The Islamic style is evident in the five domes, whereas the angular elliptical shapes are a stroke of subcontinent style. The building was declared a "protected monument" in September 2001 by the Government of Pakistan's Department of Archeology, and it is now open for general visitors, students trips and other interested persons.