Places to visit in Pune

Bajirao Peshwa built the Shaniwar Wada in 1736. It is a seven storied mansion and served as a seat of political power during its time. It acclaimed tremendous importance and is the city’s main attraction till date.

The Shaniwar Wada was largely destroyed by mysterious fires in 1827 which continued to rise during the 19th century and led to the destruction of the entire palace leaving just the mirror hall intact. When visiting the palace, one can still get a view of the leftover plinths, the fortification walls with five gateways, and nine bastions that enclosed the whole complex.

The elaborate foundations of the original palace along with the nagarkhana showcasing the wooden pillars and lattice work add up to the beauty of the mansion. The sturdy doors were designed to be protected from the enemy.

Shaniwar wada is one of the historical fort in the Pune. It is situated near the Mula-Mutha River in KasbaPeth. The construction of the fort was started in 1730, by the rulers of  Maratha empire, Peshwas. It was the seat of them. Peshwas were the rulers of Maratha Empire, until, they surrender themselves to British that is till 1818. It was named Shaniwar Wada from the Marathi words, Shanivar means Saturday and Wada is a general huge residence complex. It was completely built by Teak and Stone. All the teak and stones were brought from the jungles of junnar(village in pune) and the nearby quarries of chinchwad, which is a town in Pune. The construction was completed in 1732. Later on,Peshwas made several additions including the fortification walls with bastions and gates court halls and other buildings, fountains and reservoirs. Currently,fortification wall has five gateways and nine bastion towers, enclosing a garden complex with the foundations of the original buildings.

It is said that full moon nights are very much haunted in Shaniwarwada. There is a story behind this, according to an old story this fort  is haunted by a prince.Hewas assassinated brutally, when he was 13 by the order of one of his relative. His assassins chased him all across the fort, the boy started yelling again and again, “Kaka, mala vachva!”(Marathi Waord means – Uncle, save me!) and even today locals say that they hear his cries for help at midnight on every new moon day. The fort was largely destroyed itself in fire in1828, but, the survived structure are now maintained as a tourist site.