John Hessing's Tomb (The Red Taj)

In the Roman Catholic cemetery in central Agra, almost unmarked from the street, stands a small red sandstone mausoleum modelled directly on the Taj Mahal. It is the tomb of John Hessing (1739–1803), a Dutch officer in the Maratha army.

The "Red Taj" replicates the silhouette and the four corner minarets of its more famous neighbour at a small fraction of the scale. There is no entry fee; the cemetery caretaker will usually open the gate for visitors. It is a curiosity, but a touching one — a European widow's attempt to honour her husband in the architectural language of the empire he died defending.

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A story
John Hessing was a Dutch mercenary who fought for the Marathas and was killed defending Agra Fort against the British in 1803. His widow built this miniature Taj — in red sandstone, not white marble — over his grave a few years later. It is the closest thing in India to a domestic copy of the Taj Mahal.

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