The district of Hamirpur having inherited its name from Raja Hamir Chand. One of the tehsil of Hamirpur is Sujanpur Tira, which is situated at a distance of 27kms from town and touches the Kangra border. There are few lanes, temples and palaces of Nadaun, Sujanpur and Hamirpur still echo with stories about Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch, one of the greatest Katoch rulers. For more than a century, Sujanpur Tira remained the royal residence for the Katoch dynasty. In 1758, overlooking the settlement of Sujanpur, Abhaya Chand, a Katoch ruler, built a fortified palace top of a hill.
Raja Sansar Chand Katoch converted Sujanpur- Tira into his third capital and coming back to the fort the entrance is impressive and decorative. Inside, there are deep recesses and the walls have signs of faded paintings. It is a double storey structure, with arches, wall-niches and sizeable rooms. On the right is the Bara dari, where the kings used to hold their darbar. The fort-palace was destroyed in the 1905 Kangra earthquake and later by a fire. Few months back, state Govt. started the renovation of the fort, which must be completed till now. The architecture is opposite from the Rajasthani forts and palaces that sprawl on and on over a large footprint. Like other forts in Himachal Pradesh this is a small group of buildings set in a very organized manner. The buildings are compact and carry a similar theme throughout.
