Bhimgarh Fort, generally known as the Reasi Fort, is near

Reasi Reasi is a town and a notified area committee and tehsil in Reasi district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated at the bank of River Chenab, It is the headquarters of the Reasi district. In the eighth century, Reasi ...

, a town approximately 64 km northwest of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. The fort is on a hillock approximately 150 metres high. Initially, it was constructed of clay by Rajput king Bhimdev Rasyal Of Reasi . Later on one of the heirs of Raja Rishipal Rana, reconstructed it using stone. It was used by the royal family members for taking shelter during emergencies. The construction of a new fort at the site was started by Rajput Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu in 1817 and continued till 1841. The construction and consolidation of Bhimgarh fort was further advanced by the advent of General Zorawar Singh. The renovation of the fort was started by

Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of Dogra dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest princely state under the British Raj, which was created after the defeat of the Sikh Empire in th ...

in 1817 and continued till 1841. A new entry gate and a stone wall one m wide and 50 m long was built all around, thereby making it less vulnerable to attacks. The main entry gate is made of Baluka stones with Architecture of

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

. The front wall has

loophole A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...

s. This has a statue of the Goddess

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

and of God

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. The fort has a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, a

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

, rooms of different sizes,

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...

and

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

. After the death of Maharaja Gulab Singh, his heir

Maharaja Ranbir Singh Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

and

Maharaja Pratap Singh Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

used Bhimgarh Fort as a treasury and armoury. During

Maharaja Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became ...

's rule an English minister ordered that the armoury be destroyed and shifted the treasury to Jammu. Bhimgar Fort was handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir State

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

Department in 1989 on the orders of the state government. In 1990, the fort was renovated by the

Vaishno Devi Vaishno Devi (also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe and Vaishnavi) is a manifestation of the Hindu Mother Goddess, Durga or Adi Shakti. The words "''Maa''" and "''Mata''" are commonly used in India for ''mother'', and thus are often heavily ...

Sthapna Board. The surrounding areas were given a facelift with the construction of gardens and pathways. The fort was then opened to the public. Though, the fort is devastated by the earthquakes and lack of maintenance, it stands out as an important landmark in the town.

References

Forts in Jammu and Kashmir Rajput architecture {{India-struct-stub