Punjab · Heritage City
From the founding of the Golden Temple in 1577 to its role in the freedom struggle and Partition, Amritsar's story is the story of Punjab itself.
Explore Amritsar's History
Amritsar's four-and-a-half centuries trace a line from a Mughal land grant to a global centre of Sikh pilgrimage.
Each era below left a physical mark on the city that visitors can still see today.
In 1577, Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, acquired land around a natural pool on the site of present-day Amritsar. He had the pool excavated and enlarged, and a settlement grew around it that came to be known as Ramdaspur, or Guru Ka Chak.
The town was deliberately built to attract traders and craftsmen from across the region, laying the commercial foundation that would later make Amritsar one of Punjab's most important cities.
Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, completed the sacred pool and named it Amrit Sarovar — the "Pool of Nectar." The city itself eventually took its name from this pool, becoming Amritsar.
At the centre of the pool, Guru Arjan commissioned the construction of Sri Harmandir Sahib, deliberately built lower than the surrounding land so that worshippers would have to step down in humility to enter.
Within a few generations, Amritsar had grown from a religious settlement into a fortified town and a key stop on regional trade routes between Lahore and Delhi.
That dual identity — spiritual centre and commercial hub — has defined the city ever since.
The spiritual heart of Amritsar, built at water level to symbolise humility and openness to all.
A walled garden turned national memorial, marking one of the defining moments of India's freedom struggle.
Personal objects and oral histories document the human cost of the 1947 Partition.
A military stronghold from the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, now open to visitors.
Guru Ram Das secured the land for Ramdaspur from Emperor Akbar in 1577, part of a broader Mughal policy of accommodating religious communities in exchange for loyalty and revenue. The Guru encouraged merchants, artisans, and craftsmen from fifty-two different trades to settle in the new town, a deliberate strategy to build an economically self-sufficient community around the developing pilgrimage site.
This founding decision — combining a sacred pool with an open invitation to traders of all backgrounds — set the template for Amritsar's long-running identity as both a holy city and a commercial crossroads.
Guru Arjan completed the Amrit Sarovar and, between 1588 and 1604, oversaw construction of Sri Harmandir Sahib at its centre. He also compiled the Adi Granth, the first version of Sikhism's holy scripture, and installed it inside the temple in 1604 — cementing Amritsar's status as the faith's principal seat.
The temple's distinctive gold-leaf cladding was added much later, during the early 19th century under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, giving the shrine the appearance by which it is known worldwide today.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh unified the Sikh misls into a single empire in the early 1800s and made Amritsar its religious capital, while Lahore served as the political seat. Under his rule, the Golden Temple was renovated and gilded, and the city's fortifications, including Gobindgarh Fort, were strengthened.
Amritsar flourished commercially during this period as a centre for the textile and handicraft trade, connecting Punjab to markets across Central and South Asia.
After the British annexation of Punjab in 1849, Amritsar came under colonial administration, though the Golden Temple retained its religious autonomy. The city grew as a railway and trading hub through the late 19th century.
Amritsar's most consequential colonial-era event came on 13 April 1919, when British troops under General Dyer opened fire on an unarmed crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh. The massacre killed hundreds of civilians and is widely regarded as a turning point that hardened public support for India's independence movement.
As one of the largest cities on the new India–Pakistan border, Amritsar experienced some of the most severe violence and displacement of the 1947 Partition. Hundreds of thousands of refugees passed through the city in both directions, reshaping its population and economy almost overnight.
The Partition Museum, opened in the old Town Hall in 2017, was established to preserve first-hand accounts of this period through donated objects, letters, and oral history recordings.
Modern Amritsar has grown into one of India's most visited pilgrimage and tourism destinations, with the Golden Temple alone drawing tens of thousands of visitors daily. The city has also developed as a regional trade and transport hub, anchored by Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport.
Alongside its religious sites, Amritsar's food culture, markets, and land border ceremony at Attari-Wagah have made it a major stop on Punjab's tourist circuit.
From the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh to food walks, heritage trails, and nearby destinations — get everything you need to experience the heart of Punjab.
Come hungry, cover your head at the shrine, and stay past sunset — that covers most of it.
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