Faqir Khana Museum

Fakir Khana (The House of The Humble Ones) is one of the biggest private museums in Pakistan, and has been open to public since 1901. The building originally belonged to Raja Todar Mal, Finance Minister of Akbar. It was later renovated in the 20th century as a mansion housing almost two centuries of history of the eventful life of some of the greatest personalities of the region and period. Fakir Khana Museum is actually a house turned inside out in the sense that what is actually private in the house, has been made public. Access to all parts of the building is unhindered. The Fakir Khana Museum is now being run by the 6th generation of the Fakir family. It is situated barely five minutes walk from Bhatti Gate, one of the famous 13 gates of the walled city of Lahore. It is the only privately owned museum recognized by the Government of Pakistan. The history of the museum can be traced back to that of the Fakir family that settled in Lahore in 1730, where it established and ran a publishing house. Over the years, the family has acquired a collection of ten thousand manuscripts. The Fakir Khana Museum currently houses over twenty thousand specimens of art and artifacts encompassing three centuries, from the 18th to the 20th. The Miniature Hall is the most impressive of all the sections of Fakir Khana Museum, with exhibit arrangement having been maintained for three quarters of a century.