Greater Iqbal Park ( ur, ), formerly Minto Park, is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

located in the outskirts of the

Walled City A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Before current renovations and expansion, its name was Iqbal Park. Noted as the home of

Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pa ...

'','' the 329-acre park includes an artificial lake which spreads over four acres which includes an 800-feet-long

musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...

. Other attractions includes a two-kilometre-long soft rail, a library, an open-air gym and a food court. The

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s of

Allama Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

and Hafeez Jalandhari are also located in the park.

History

The grounds known as Greater Iqbal Park today were used for ceremonial military parades during the Mughal era. After the ascension of the Sikhs into power in 1799, the grounds came to be known as 'Parade Ground', as the area continued to be used for the same purpose as it was by the Mughals. When the British captured Lahore in 1849, they renamed the grounds as Minto Park, after Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, and

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

between July 1807 and 1813. After the creation of Pakistan, the park was renamed as Iqbal Park, after the poet-philosopher

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

, in commemoration of the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...

of 1940. After extensive renovations were completed in December 2016, the park was given its current name.

Renovation and expansion

Work began on the upgradation of the park on 10 October 2015. Habib Construction Services Limited was contracted to complete the project. Along with renovation of the Minar-i-Pakistan, the project featured expansion of the Iqbal Park by including it in the stretch of Circular Road between the park and

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...

. The 125-acre green oasis is surrounded almost entirely by the old city of Lahore. The project was completed on 9 November 2016 incurring a total cost of PKR 981 million as quoted by the contractor of the project. The new-look park was formally inaugurated on 17 December 2016. Furthermore, the National History Museum was opened in the park in 2018. It is the first digital museum in Pakistan that offers an immersive experience to visitors with the help of cutting-edge technologies. Using holograms and virtual reality equipment, this digital museum commemorates all the historic events leading to the emergence of Pakistan in 1947. Along with hosting a vast collection of national relics and antiquities, the museum also highlights the key sports and cultural events throughout the history of the country.

Features

The park features the following sites: *

* Tomb of Hafeez Jalandhari * Tomb of

Musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...

* National History Museum * Library *

Boating lake A boating lake is a lake used for recreational boating. Such lakes are often in parks and can be artificially made. Some boating lakes are used for model boat Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size ...

* Mughal-style baradari * Children play area *

Food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...

* Open-air gym * Walking trails * Buggy track *

Gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

Gallery

File:The mighty Minar-e-Pakistan.jpg,

and its lush surroundings File:Badshahi Mosque July 1 2005 pic32 by Ali Imran (1).jpg,

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...

is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:The Lahore Forts Alamgiri Gate Picture2 taken at night - July 20 2005.jpg,

is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:Allama Iqbals Tomb East wall close-up July 1 2005.jpg,

Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal The Tomb of Allama Iqbal, or Mazaar-e-Iqbal ( ur, ) is a mausoleum located within the Hazuri Bagh, in the Pakistani city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province. Background Iqbal was one of the major inspirations behind the Pakistan Movement, an ...

is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:Iqbal park lush grounds.jpg, Lush grounds of the park File:Iqbal Park view of Badshahi Mosque.jpg, View of

from the park File:Greater Iqbal park.jpg, Traditional horse-drawn carriage File:Iqbal Park (Lahore) by Damn Cruze.jpg, View from

File:Iqbal Park.jpg, Entrance to Hafeez Jalandhari's tomb File:Iqbal Park, Lahore 5.jpg, Walking trails at evening

References

{{LahoreTopics Lahore Tourist attractions in Lahore Walled City of Lahore Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal Parks in Lahore Gardens in Pakistan

History

Renovation and expansion

Features

Gallery

See also

References