Moorish Mosque

Address: Near the railway station City: Kapurthala State: Punjab Location: North India Year of Construction: 1930 Constructed By: Last Maharaja of Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh Type of Construction: Medieval Type of Building: Mosque Religion: Islam Importance: Patterned after the Qutbya Mosque in Morocco, it is a brilliant masterpiece of Moorish style architecture. Patterned after the Qutbya Mosque in Morocco, it is a brilliant masterpiece of Moorish style architecture. Accomodation: Accomodations are easily avaialable at the hotels in Kapurthala. Accesibility Kapurthala is well connected to the other cities by rail and road. Nearby Cities: Amristar, Jalandhar, Firozpur The Moorish Mosque of Kapurthala : "The Moorish Mosque was constructed on the order of his Highness Maharaja Jagajit Singh Bahadur. The building operations were in progress between October 1926 to March 1930. The total cost amounted to 4 lakh (400,000) rupees. The inauguration ceremony took place on the 14th March 1930 in the presence of His Highness the Maharaja who was accompanied by His Highness the Nawab Sadiq Mohd. Khan Bahadur, Ruler of Bahawalpur State. The congregation numbered over a lakh. The existence of this mosque will bear an enduring testimony to His Highness' broadminded tolerance and solicitude for the welfare of his subjects." Maharaja Jagajit Singh was indeed an extraordinarily enlightened and progressive ruler of a small princely state near Jullundhar in the undivided Punjab. The reason he chose a Moroccan style mosque was that he used to visit that North African Arab country regularly. The design of the Moorish Mosque was prepared by a Frenchman, M. Manteaux, who patterned it after the Qutbya Mosque in Marrakesh. It has a large compound paved with the purest marble. The artists of the Mayo School of Art, Lahore, decorated the inner dome. Moorish Mosque A spectacular example of the secular history of Kapurthala is the Moorish Mosque, a famous replica of the Grand Mosque of Marakesh, Morocco, was built by a French architect, Monsieur M Manteaux. Its construction was commissioned by the last ruler of Kapurthala, Maharajah Jagatjit Singh and took 13 years to complete between 1917 and 1930. It was then consecrated in the presence of the late Nawab of Bhawalpur. The Mosque's inner dome contains decorations by the artists of the Mayo School of Art, Lahore. The Mosque is a National Monument under the Archeological Survey of India.It was one of the monumental creations in the State during the premiership of late Diwan Sir Abdul Hamid Kt., CIE,OBE.It was his keen interest with Maharaja's blessings that the mosque was completed. Its wooden model lay at the entrance of the Lahore Museum.