Sikandar Bagh Villa, Lucknow

Sikandar Bagh is a villa and a four and a half acre garden surrounded by a fortified wall with loopholes, gateway and corner bastions. The garden was laid out by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan around 1800. It was later enriched and a villa was built by the last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, during the first half of the 19th century, who used it as his summer residence. The garden has a little pavilion in the center, which is thought to have been the scene of innumerable performances and cultural activities, as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah has been extremely fond of his leisure interests. The place has suffered from the British attack in 1857 during the Indian Rebellion and witnessed within its walls the death of all 2,200 sepoy rebels who had made it a fortress during the Siege of Lucknow.