Golestan Palace

The Golestan Palace (Persian: کاخ گلستان, Kākh-e Golestān) in Tehran was the official royal residence of the Qajar dynasty. It is one of the capital’s oldest historic landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The complex is made up of 17 structures—palaces, museums, and halls—enclosed by a wall, now mostly used as museums. These structures were originally inside the defensive walls of Tehran’s citadel. Most of the buildings date from the 1800s and hold a mix of Iranian and European crafts and gifts spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries.

The site’s history goes back to at least 1404, when the Castilian envoy Ruy González de Clavijo stayed at the house of a Tehran elder named Baba Sheikh, thought to be on the same ground as the later royal citadel. The citadel itself began taking shape under Safavid shahs: Suleiman I built a palace in the Chenaristan area in the late 1600s, and Tahmasp I raised Tehran’s arg (citadel) in the 1500s. Abbas the Great added a large garden north of the fence, later enclosed by a high wall with buildings, including the royal residence. During the Safavid decline, Tehran sometimes served as a temporary court seat. Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty later renovated the palace. When Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajars made Tehran his capital, the arg became the Qajar seat of power, and the Golestan Palace became their official home. The palace was rebuilt into its current form in 1865 by the architect Haji Ab ol Hasan Mimar Navai.

Under the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), the palace was used for formal receptions, while the Pahlavis built their own palaces in Niavaran and Sa’dabad. Key ceremonies held there included the coronations of Reza Shah in 1926 and of Mohammad Reza Shah and Shahbanu Farah in 1967. Between 1925 and 1945, Reza Shah ordered the destruction of many of the complex’s buildings, believing the old Qajar palaces should not block the growth of a modern city. In their place, commercial buildings in a 1950s–1960s style were erected. The Golestan Palace Complex includes 17 structures—palaces, museums, and halls—almost all built during the Qajar dynasty’s 131-year rule. They were used for coronations and other royal ceremonies.