Walled City of Lahore

The Walled City of Lahore, also known as the Old City or Inner Lahore, refers to the historic core of Lahore, the capital and largest city of Punjab, Pakistan. The early settlements were established between the 1st and 7th centuries, with Lahore attaining the status of a proper city in 1040 which was fortified throughout the medieval era. It has been the primary cultural centre of the Punjab since the late-medieval era.

The Walled City rose in prominence after being selected as the Mughal capital, which resulted in the construction of the Lahore Fort – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the city's new reinforced walls. The Walled City was bestowed with numerous monuments during the Mughal era, with some of Lahore's most iconic structures being located in the Walled City, such as the lavishly decorated Wazir Khan Mosque, the massive Badshahi Mosque, and the Shahi Hammam. Under Sikh rule, the city was again selected as the capital, and the Walled City again rose in prominence with numerous religious buildings built in the Walled City at the time, including the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, and the Gurdwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das.

The Walled City today remains the cultural heart of Lahore, and is home to many of its tourist attractions. In 2012, the Pilot Urban Conservation and Infrastructure Improvement Project—the Shahi Guzargah Project was launched to restore a section of Shahi Guzargah ("Royal Passage") between the Wazir Khan Mosque and Delhi Gate under the management of the Walled City of Lahore Authority. The first phase of the project was completed in 2015 with support from the governments of Norway and the United States of America.