Agra City

Agra City, the capital of the district, is situated on the river Jumna, stretching in a semi-circle along the banks for a distance of 4 miles. It was formerly the capital of the North-West Provinces, and is a fine, prosperous, and populous city. Lord Lake captured the place from the Mahrattas in 1803, and in the mutiny of 1857 many European refugees found safety here. The glory of Agra is the Taj Mahal, the marvellous white marble tomb erected:. by the Emperor Shah Jehan to the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaza Mahal. Within the fort, which was built by Akbar at the end of the sixteenth century, are two other noble buildings - vis. the Audience Hall of Shah Jehan, and the Moti Musjid or "Pearl Mosque," a gem of Indian-Mohammedan art. The town contains three important colleges and a medical school.