Tharangambadi (Tranquebar) - The only Danish Fort of India

About the Destination

Tharangambadi has the second-largest Danish Fort in India? Do you know that? Not just that, this fort is also the only Danish fort of India! Tharangambadi used to host Danish settlements by the sea in the 17th century. During this period, Fort Dansborg was constructed by the Danes.

Trip Plan

Trip members: Karthik, Vijay, Siva, and TP
Trip date:  18 May 2019
Trip Plan : Sirkazhi - Tharangambadi - Karaikal

Route :: Chennai - Cuddalore - Sirkazhi - Tharangambadi - Chidambaram - Panruti - Tindivadam - Chennai

We started by Friday evening and reached Sirkazhi. The plan was to visit a few temples around Sirkazhi on the way to Tharangambadi. The temple trip is covered in the blog here. This blog is to share the experiences at Tharangambadi.

Tharangambadi

We reached Tharangambadi by 12:30. Tharangambadi is 15 km before Karaikal by the ECR. The Danish fort - only of its kind in the country is right by the beach. Tharangambadi town is quite small and is welcomed by a Danish Arch. The Danish colony was established in 1620 in the understanding of the then Tanjore king of Nayaks. The Danes were paying tributes to the king for allowing them to establish their colony by the port town.

The places of interest in the town of Tharangambadi are as below:

• Fort Dansborg
• Tharangambadi Arch (Gateway of Tranquebar)
• New Jerusalem Church
• Zion Church
• Tharangambadi Maritime Museum
• Governor House
• Tharangambadi Beach
• Masilamaniswarar Shiva Temple

As one enters Tharangambadi, the first thing to notice on the King's street is the Arch - Gateway of Tranquebar. This landmark is quite well preserved and is a photo spot.

The Churches

As we move ahead by the King's street, on the right side comes the New Jerusalem church. This is the largest in the town. There is one more at the end of the town on the other side, which we did not visit for the interest of time. Next, by the left is Zion church.

The Maritime Museum

We visited the Tharangambadi maritime museum at the end of the King's street. They take an entry fee of Rs.5 per person. The Tharangambadi maritime museum has displays of preserved sea life, shells, models of boat, utensils, costumes, paintings, and little more that were used by the Danes. They also have a small Indian stamp collection. The churches, museums, and the fort are well maintained even to date.

Governor's bungalow

We then visited the Danish Governor's bungalow which is just next to Tharangambadi maritime museum. The Governor's bungalow was one of the damaged and not maintained building and has been renovated recently. There is no entry fee for this. We spent around 10 minutes here to see the arched structure inside.

The Danish Fort

The Danish fort called Fort Dansborg is by the sea. There is a lot of parking space around and small shops for quick refreshments. The fort is open for the public from 10 AM to 5:45 PM; Friday is a holiday. The entry fee for the fort is Rs.5 per person and Rs.3 for the child. The 17th-century fort was built as the fort was a flourishing port and handled the majority of trade on this coastline. Ultimately, after British occupied India, this port lost its shine and Tharangambadi was also taken over from the Danes. The fort walls can be walked upon and get a good view of the beach and sea. The fort has chambers for the granary, storage, wine cellar, gun storeroom, and alike.

There is a small museum as well in the fort with displays of used items by the Danes. We spent around 20-25 minutes in the fort. One gets a nice view of the fort from the beach too.

The Beach

The beach is quite nice and picturesque. The landing plaque for the boats is ruined and gives an element to photographers. The Masilamanieswarar temple is right by the beach and is in ruins. We did not visit the temple as it was getting hot by 1 PM.

We then reached Karaikal for stay and continue with our spree of visiting historic and ancient temples around. Tharangambadi is definitely a good time pass for people visiting the surrounding areas like Thirunallar, Vaitheswaran temple, Sirkazhi, and around. Do include this in your plan and have fun!