Malegaon Fort

Malegaon Fort is an 18th-century land fort located in Malegaon city, Nashik district, Maharashtra. Built in 1740 by Naro Shankar Raje Bahadur, a general of the Peshwa, it stands on the north bank of the Mausam River. The fort features 60-foot high inner walls, lofty entrance doors with cannons, and a hexagonal well. Currently housing a Marathi high school within its premises, it remains open to visitors and serves as a historical landmark reflecting Maratha military architecture.

Visitors can explore the surviving fortifications including thick outer walls, two historic cannons at the entrance, and a hexagonal well inside the compound. A government school currently occupies part of the premises, so students may be present during weekdays. The site offers views of the surrounding urban landscape and the Mausam River. Access is straightforward via local transport from the bus stand, and the visit typically involves walking through the remaining structural elements of this Maratha-era land fort.

Constructed between 1740 and 1765 by Naro Shankar Raje Bahadur, a Peshwa general appointed as agent in Malwa, who was gifted 18 villages including Malewadi. Craftsmen were brought from Surat and northern India for construction, taking 25 years to complete. During the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the fort was besieged by the East India Company after the fall of Trymbak Fort. Muslim soldiers of the Maratha army defiantly held the fort even as the Peshwa surrendered.

The fort represents Maratha military architecture and administrative expansion in the 18th century. After completion, craftsmen who built the fort settled in Malegaon, contributing to the town's development. The site also has associations with Nathpanthi saint Machhindranath according to local tradition. Today it functions partly as an educational institution, integrating heritage with contemporary community use.