The monuments, which bear a historical association, come under this segment. They are largely of secular kind and thus different from the religious monuments. Mostly forts, palaces, memorials, victory pillars should come under this category.
Palaces and havelis were the residences of the royal families and sport the awe-inspiring opulence they used to live in. Forts were constructed as the refuge for the royals and the subjects during hostages. But that was not all. In fact the Indian Maharajahs from every dynasty in all ages shared a passion for building monuments. Be in memory of near and dear ones or to celebrate the victory in a war, they never shied away from spending huge fortune in building them. In fact the most most celebrated monument in India is the Taj Mahal which actually a memorial built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife.
Many of the palaces, havelis and forts today have been converted to hotels today and enjoy the status of heritage hotels.
The religious monuments encompass the numerous temples, mosques, churches, viharas and other places of worship, scattered all over India. Every dynasty built the places of worship of the religion they followed. The Hindu kings built temples, the Buddhists followed with Stupas and monasteries and the Muslim emperors built mosques.
Such edifices also boast of magnificent architecture and bear the signs of fantastic imagination of the gifted artists. Every religion had its distinct architectural style which used to be manifested through the motifs and figurines carved on them. But the most wonderful thing is that, many of the religious monuments display a harmonious blending of architectural influences of other religions.
