UAE - Commemorative - Qasr Al Hosn 250 years

Qasr al Hosn  (The Fort Palace)

           

Date of Issue: 25 Nov 2013
Denominations: AED 1,   1.50, 2, 3  + S.S: AED: 8
Printing Method: Lithographic +Gold Foiling

Qasr Al Hosn

Despite the skyscrapers towering above its white walls today, Qasr Al Hosn (also known as Al Hosn Palace or White Palace) has remained a landmark and icon of Abu Dhabi, telling the story of rulership by the Al Nahyan family going back to the 18th century.

History

With the expansion of the settlement and rising commercial importance of Abu Dhabi, the watchtower was amended by the addition of fortification walls which were expanded into a fort by Sheikh Shakhboot bin Diyab around 1795. Since then Qasr Al Hosn combined administration, as well as residence facilities, for the ruling Al Nahyan family.
When the Trucial States were formed during the 19th century and the pearling industry boomed in the Gulf Region, Qasr Al Hosn became increasingly more vital for the maintenance and protection of maritime trade. As a solitary stone building in the midst of a settlement of palm frond huts (Barasti), the palace was further expanded and cannons were added to it's fortification. However, the phase of economical stability and prosperity was followed by years of hardship during the World War I, which coincided with the downturn of the pearling industry due to the invention of artificial pearl fabrication by Japanese pearling companies. Accordingly, the palace was not expanded further, until the discovery and exploration of oil in 1958. In those troubled times, the fort provided shelter and refuge, as well as a place to discuss and dissolve disputes with the surrounding tribes.
During the rule of Sheikh Shakhboot bin Sultan Al Nahyan the fort was expanded and refurbished to meet modern day standards. In 1966, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan reserved the premises exclusively for government administration and ordered further renovations between 1976 and 1985. For some time, Qasr Al Hosn accommodated the local police and later the Centre for Documentation and Research before both expanded beyond the palace’s capacities.
In 2007, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) launched a comprehensive expansion plan for the palace, in order to preserve its historical structure in a way that gives justice to its role as a landmark for Abu Dhabi.
From its humble beginnings as a single watchtower to a government administration centre for a modern nation state, the construction and expansion of Qasr Al Hosn reflect on a small scale the development of Abu Dhabi Emirate on the whole.

 

Source: www.abudhabi.ae