WELCOME TO AN ERA

A GLIMPSE INTO OUR HISTORY

Fakir Khana (the House of the humble ones) is one of the biggest private museums in Pakistan and the only privately owned museum which is recognized by the Government of Pakistan. It has been open to the public since 1901.
The building of the museum, which is a haveli in Hakeeman Bazaar (the bazaar of Hakeems) and situated five minutes’ walk from Bhatti gate, one of the famous gates of the walled city of Lahore. The building originally belonged to Raja Todar Mal, finance minister of Emperor Akbar’s court of the Mughal Empire.
Fakir Khana Museum is a house turned inside out in the sense that what is actually private in the house has been made public and is now being run by the 6th generation of the Fakir family. The history of the building can be traced back to that of the Fakir family that settled in Lahore in 1730 where it established and ran a publishing house. 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 time period.
Over the years the Fakir family has acquired a collection of 10,000 manuscripts and currently houses over 20,000 specimens of art and artifacts encompassing three centuries from the 18th to the 20th century.