Baltit Fort Hunza

Baltit now called Karimabad is a town of 9000 inhabitants in Hunza, one of the high valleys in Northern Area. Hunza was an autonomous feudal kingdom ruled by Mirs until 1974 when it became part of Pakistan’s Northern Area. This change in status occurred simultaneously with the beginning of the construction to the Karkoram Highway. The new road built with the Chinese aid, follows much of the ancient trade route between China and Central Asia. The people of Hunza had controlled and levied taxes upon this route for centuries. The main settlement grew around Baltit fort which commanded this section of the Khunjerab pass. The Baltit fort poised majestically above the village and itself dominated by the Ultar glacier and one of the highest mountain peaks of the world is a truly unique part of Pakistan’s architectural heritage.

The plan of this building shows that the fort evolved from a nucleus of one and subsequently several towers.

These towers were linked by one story high walls and were divided into many small rooms with underground storage vaults. A second story and part of a third were added at different moments during its history, including the semi peaceful colonial period under the British at the end of the 19th century. The top storey was modified by adding verandas thus transforming baltit from a fort into a palace. The building was abandoned approximately 50 years ago by the former Mir and his family in favour of more modern accommodations constructed on a lower terrace above the village. Nevertheless as an edifice and as a symbol the fort continued to have a deep significance for Hunza. Although neither the Mir nor the community was in a position to adequately maintain the fort the conservation of this important cultural legacy became matter of undeniable concern for the whole region.

The Conservation of Baltit Fort

In 1989 Mir of Hunza donated the fort to the Baltit Heritage Trust (BHT) which was established as a care taker and operating institution for the fort. This donation to a public entity, in turn enabled the Aga Trust for Culture (AKTC). AKTC has made the Baltit fort restoration one of the key projects of its historic cites support program, and assist the conservation cost.

The fort conservation project had to cope with extraordinary structural geotechnical and logistics problems due to precarious condition of the building the steep slope the lack of soil stability and the remoteness of the project area. The project carried out in close cooperation with the Aga khan Cultural Service. A number of young Pakistani professionals trained by an expatriate resident engineer made important contributions to the project. The team has restored the physical shell of the building to a reasonable state of structural stability, including the strengthening of bearing walls floors and roofs.

It has also done re-plastering and repainting word, for the future use of the building as a museum and culture center. Some minor functional adjustments had to be made introducing basic electrical and mechanical services, a small pantry, toilets and emergency exit.

One of the trusts main objectives in this project was to introduce and to promote internationally recommended conservation standards and practices in Pakistan. Whenever possible original construction techniques and materials were used for repair based on corresponding research and experiments.

Occasionally new elements had to be introduced discretely in order to improve the stability of the building or to accommodate new functions. These interventions are clearly indicated and differentiated from the preservation or restored original elements. In some instances advanced technology had to be used such as tie-ropes and geomesh in order to remedy serious structural problems.

The key to consolidating the forts structure resided in strengthening the timber cages against weathering age and earthquakes. The old floor structures needed to be repaired or replaced and a system of water proofing for the roof needed to be introduced. The retaining walls around the base of the building were examined in great detail and replaced or restored following the original techniques. Inside the fort part of the wooden planking which supports the earthen floors had to be replaced and some of the original carvings had to be restored.

An artisanal approach implemented with great respect for the building, has resulted in four years of hard work with a dedicated group of masons and workmen from Hunza. Architects engineers and local craftsmen have benefited from the training process on site.

Article source: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/baltit-fort-hunza-1130433.html

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