Editing Murree (section)

{{short description|Town in Punjab, Pakistan}}
{{About|the city in Pakistan|other uses of the name|Murree (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Murree
| native_name        = {{Nastaliq|مری}}
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border      = infobox
| total_width = 300
| image_style =
| perrow      = 1/2/2/2/2/1
| image1      = Sunset in hills - Holy Trinity Church, Murree.jpg
| caption1    = [[Holy Trinity Church, Murree|Holy Trinity Church]]
| image2      = Muree veiw.jpg
| caption2    = Cantonment area
| image3      = GPO Mall Road Murree.jpg
| caption3    = General Post Office
| image4      = Murree Mall.jpg
| caption4    = Mall Road
| image5      = Patriatta (cropped).jpg
| caption5    = [[Patriata]]'s Gondola Lift
| image6      = 
| caption6    = 
}}
| nicknames           = The Depot, The White City
| image_map          = 
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Location in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]##Location in Pakistan
| pushpin_map        = Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan
| pushpin_label_position = top<!-- left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| coordinates        = {{Coord|33|54|15|N|73|23|25|E|type:city_region:PK|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|Province]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Punjab (Pakistan)|District]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Tehsil]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flagicon|Punjab}} [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Murree District|Murree]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Murree Tehsil|Murree]]
| leader_party       = 
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Vacant
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| area_total_km2     = 
| elevation_m        = 2291.2
| elevation_footnotes = {{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}
| population_total   = 25,186{{efn|This figure includes the population of Murree Municipal Committee and Murree Hills cantonment.}}
| population_as_of   = [[2023 Census of Pakistan|2023]]
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Urban Localities by Population Size and their Population by Sex, Annual Growth Rate and Household Size: Census–2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/dcr/table_2.pdf |website=pbs.gov.pk |publisher=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]] |access-date=26 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219205229/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/dcr/table_2.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2024}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| timezone1          = [[Pakistan Standard Time|PKT]]
| utc_offset1        = +5
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal codes in Pakistan|Postal code]]
| postal_code        = 47150
| area_code          = 
| area_code_type     = 
| blank_name_sec2    = 
| blank_info_sec2    = 
| footnotes          = 
| elevation_m_min    = 
| elevation_m_max    = 
}}
'''Murree''' ({{Langx|ur|{{nq|مری}}}}) is a [[mountain resort]] city in the [[Murree District|eponymous district]] in the northernmost region of the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] province of [[Pakistan]]. Lying in the [[Galyat]] region of the [[Pir Panjal Range]] under the western [[Himalayas]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rahman |first1=Amjad |last2=Gürbüz |first2=Esra |last3=Chen |first3=Jiquan |last4=Ekercin |first4=Semih |title=Spatial Diversity, Patterns of Forest Vegetation, and Sustainability Analysis of the Murree Mountains of Western Himalayas |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_15 |journal=Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia |date=2022 |pages=267–286 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_15|isbn=978-3-030-73942-3 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> it forms the outskirts of the [[Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area]] in the northeast of the capital city, [[Islamabad]]. It has an average altitude of {{convert|2291|m|ft|0}}. The town was built in the mid 19th-century during the [[British Raj]] to escape the scorching heat in the plains of [[Punjab]] during the summer.<ref>{{harvnb|Crossette|1998|p=24}}: "Murree was founded in the 1850s as the summer capital of the British Indian army's Northern Command, and some top officials of the counterpart civilian government, also based in Rawalpindi, had seasonal residences there. Among the well-known hill stations of British India, Murree alone went to Islamic Pakistan at Partition, taking with it all the trappings of any mountain resort."</ref>

Construction of the town was started in 1851 on the hills of Murree as a [[sanatorium]] for [[British troops]]. The permanent town of Murree was constructed in 1853 and a church was consecrated shortly thereafter. One main road was established, commonly referred to as "Mall Road". Murree was the headquarters during the summer of the colonial [[Punjab (region)|Punjab]] Government until 1876 when it was moved to [[Shimla]].{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>{{citation |last1=Crossette |first1=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Crossette |title=Murree Journal; Hill Station Thrives, a Piece of Time Gone By |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/10/world/murree-journal-hill-station-thrives-a-piece-of-time-gone-by.html |access-date=25 April 2025 |publisher=originally published in [[The Times]]’s print archive |via=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 November 1990}}</ref>

Murree became a popular tourist station for British citizens of the [[British Raj]]. It is the birthplace of several prominent Britons including [[Bruce Bairnsfather]], [[Francis Younghusband]], [[Reginald Dyer]] and [[Joanna Kelley]].<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Kelley [née Beadon], Joanna Elizabeth (1910–2003), prison administrator|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-89897|access-date=2020-06-25|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/89897}}</ref> During the colonial era, access to commercial establishments was restricted for non-Europeans. Such establishments included [[Lawrence College, Murree]].

Since the [[independence of Pakistan]] in 1947, Murree has retained its position as a popular [[hill station]], noted for its pleasant summer weather. Many tourists visit the town from the [[Islamabad]]-[[Rawalpindi]] area.<ref name=Dawn>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1269846|title=Rain, tourists cause traffic jams in Murree|date=2016-07-10|newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref> The town also serves as a transit point for tourists visiting [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Abbottabad]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/743914/independence-day-festivity-plans-finalised-for-murree/|title=Independence Day: Festivity plans finalized for Murree |date=2014-08-04|newspaper=The Express Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1200394|title=Pakistanis not free to go to Murree on Independence Day|last=Asghar|first=Mohammad|date=2015-08-14|newspaper=Dawn|access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref> The town is noted for its [[Tudorbethan]] and [[Neo Gothic|neo-gothic]] architecture. The [[Government of Pakistan]] owns a summer retreat in Murree, where foreign dignitaries including heads of state often visit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/308249-Nawaz-Tajikistan-President-meet-in-Murree|title=Nawaz, Tajikistan President meet in Murree|website= Dunya TV News website|date=14 February 2008 |access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/05/09/national/pm-house-rejects-imrans-murree-home-renovation-claim/|title=PM House rejects Imran's Murree 'home renovation' claim|access-date=16 October 2021|newspaper=[[Pakistan Today]]|date=9 May 2016}}</ref>