Shahi Hammam

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Shahi Hammam, also known as the Wazir Khan Hammam, is a historic Turkish bath in Lahore, Pakistan. Built in 1635 during Emperor Shah Jahan’s reign by Ilam-ud-din Ansari, the Mughal governor known as Wazir Khan, it was created as part of a waqf to support the Wazir Khan Mosque. Today it is Lahore’s last surviving Mughal-era hammam and sits inside the Walled City near Delhi Gate. It is no longer used as a bathhouse.

From 2013 to 2015 the baths were restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Walled City of Lahore Authority, with funding from the government of Norway. The project restored the original layout, preserved Mughal frescoes, and re-opened the space as a heritage site. UNESCO awarded it an Award of Merit in 2016 for the quality of the restoration.

Originally designed in the Persian style, the hammam had three sections: a dressing area, warm baths, and hot baths. The rooms were gender-segregated and lit by sunlight pouring through ceiling openings to aid lighting and ventilation. The exterior façade had few windows, so shops were built along the outer walls. By the 18th century the baths fell out of use, and in the British era the building served as a school, a dispensary, a recreation center, and municipal offices. Excavations during restoration revealed that parts of the building had been demolished in the 1860s, likely for Delhi Gate’s reconstruction, and uncovered water heating systems, drainage, and under-floor remains of the original hypocaust.