Tharangambadi
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Tharangambadi
Tranquebar | |
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Town | |
UTC+5:30 (IST) | |
PIN | 609313 |
Vehicle registration | TN 82-Z |
Part of a series on the |
Danish East india |
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Tharangambadi (Tamil:
Tharangambadi is the headquarters of
History
The place dates back to the 14th century. Masilamani nathar (Shiva) temple was built in 1306, in a land given by Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. As of now, this temple is the oldest monument.[7] Until 1620, when the Danes came,[8][2] the place was under Thanjavur Nayak kingdom. Danish admiral Ove Gjedde felt the place would be a potential trading centre, made a deal with Raghunatha Nayak and built a fort, which is known as Fort Dansborg.[9]
A Jesuit Catholic congregation in Tranquebar predated the arrival of the Danes by several decades. This congregation descended from Tamil fishermen converted by Portuguese missionaries. There was also a sizable population[10] of Indo-Portuguese due to their presence nearby in Nagapattinam. The Catholic church was probably demolished to build the fort.[citation needed] This fort was the residence and headquarters of the governor and other officials for about 150 years. It is now a museum hosting a collection of artifacts from the colonial era.[11]
Among the first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two
Bible translations into the
The
Tranquebar was occupied by the British in February 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars but was restored to Denmark following the Treaty of Kiel in 1814.[2] Along with the Danish settlement of Serampore in Bengal, it was sold to the British in 1845.[8][16] Tranquebar was then still a busy port, but it later lost its importance after a railway was opened to Nagapattinam.[2]
The Subrahmanya Temple, Perambur, located in the outskirts of the town is one of the most prominent Murugan temples in the region.[17]
Tranquebar Museum
The 17th and 18th century antiquities and relics from the
New Jerusalem Church
The New Jerusalem Church was built in 1718 by the Royal Danish missionary
Fort Dansborg
Construction of Fort Dansborg started in 1620. Many parts of the fort have been reconstructed several times. Dansborg is the second largest Danish fort ever constructed, with Kronborg in Helsingør being the largest. The rampart wall is a fairly large four sided structure, with bastions at each cardinal point. A single storied building was constructed along three inner sides of the rampart, with barracks, warehouse, kitchen, and jail. The rooms on the southern side remain in good condition, but the rooms on the western and northern sides have been substantially damaged. On the eastern side of the fort, there was a two storied building facing the sea. It was the main building of the fort. The vaulted lower storey served as a magazine and a warehouse, while the vaulted upper storey contained the church and the lodgings of the governor, the senior merchants, and the chaplain. The sea on the eastern and western side protected the fort. The fort was surrounded by a moat, access to the fort being over a drawbridge. The moat has completely disappeared. Interestingly, today, none of the fort's door openings and windows have doors in them. It is believed that during the end of their colonisation period, the Danish ran into financial issues. To make ends meet, they pulled out the metal doors, molded them into weapons and sold them.[22]
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[23] Tharangambadi had a population of 20,841. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. Tharangambadi has an average literacy rate of 74%, similar to the national average of 74.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 69%. In Tharangambadi, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Notable people
- Kavignar Meenavan (1933–2012), Tamil poet, writer and activist
Gallery
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Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg monument in Tranquebar
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Fort Dansborg. Established in 1620 and partially renovated during 2002 by the Tranquebar Association. View from the governor's bungalow.
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Goldsmith Street, now restored by INTACH in Tranquebar
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Zion Church at Tranquebar
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Ziegenbalg Landing Plaque
See also
- Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg
- Danish East India Company
- Danish India
- European colonies in India
- History of Denmark
- Kulasekharapatnam
- Puhar
- Tiruchirappalli Fort
India portal Denmark portal Norway portal
References
- ^ "Census of India: Search Details". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 169.
- ^ "Grundlæggelsen af kolonien Tranquebar, 1620-1630".
- ^ "A visit to Tranquebar, Denmark's forgotten outpost in India". CNN. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "Tranquebar | lex.dk". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ "Trankebar | lex.dk". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ Lakshmi Sharath (2 February 2013). "Tryst with the coast". Deccan Herald. India.
- ^ a b Datta, Rangan (15 June 2023). "Tranquebar — A piece of Denmark on the coast of the Bay of Bengal". No. The Telegraph. My Kolkata. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Danish flavour". Frontline. India. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ Grønseth, Kristian (2007). "A Little Piece of Denmark in India", The Space and Places of a South Indian Town, and a Narrative of its Peoples. Oslo: University of Oslo. p. 29.
- ^ "Danish Fort Site Museum - Tranquebar | Department Of Archaeology". Tnarch.gov.in. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ a b Hull, Ernest Reginald (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ a b Madhulika Liddle (8 August 2010). "The Missionary's footprints". Indian Express. India.
- ^ "The Indo-Danish Cultural Encounter with Special Reference to Print in the Eigteenth Century". 28 May 2011. Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Hull, Ernest Reginald (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ a b "Tharangampadi - Introduction". Nagapattinam district administration, State government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ISBN 978-81-7478-177-2.
- ^ a b "New Jerusalem Church rededicated". The Hindu. No. Tamil Nadu. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "New Jerusalem Church founded in 1718 AD". Trip Advisor. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Jayanth, Joseph (2 November 2012). "1718 church in Tranquebar". Pot of Thots. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Imhoff, Frank (19 July 2006). "Tamil Lutherans Rededicate Tranquebar Mission Church in India". Worldwide Faith News. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Abraham, Sharon (10 August 2021). "Tharangambadi - Tranquebar, the land where dancing waves sing eternally". Mittai Stories. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
External links
- WorldStatesmen- India
- Photos of Tranquebar
- National Institute of Oceanography: Mahabalipuram and Poompuhar
- trankebar.net
- Tranquebar: The Danish East India Company 1616–1669
- Coins of Danish India
- "Conversations in Tarangambadi: Caring for the Self in Early Eighteenth Century South India" von Eugene F. Irschick
- 'Sepoy Mutiny'-article by Maggy G. Menachery in St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, 1982 & passim
- Tranquebar at colonialvoyage.com
- Danish Colonial Remains at colonialvoyage.com
- www.dtnext.in