Tharangambadi or Tranquebartown of Tamil Nadu

Danish colony from 1620 to 1845• Tharangambadi or Tranquebar is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in

the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Tharangambadi is the headquarters of Tharangambadi taluk. Its name means place of the singing waves. It was a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845, and in Danish it is still known as Trankebar.

The earliest reference to Tarangampadi occurs in a 14th century inscription, mentioning the place as Sadanganpade. Tranquebar was founded by the Danish East India Company in 1620, when a factory (commercial settlement) was opened and a fort, known as Fort Dansborg, was built by a Danish captain named Ove Gjedde. 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.

A view of Tranquebar Fort, built by Danish settlers. The Danish enjoyed support of the British and were more traders and missionaries than military colonialists. They, however, had their eye on the island of Nicobar.

The town gate, paint peeling off its walls, welcomes visitors to the time capsule of Tranquebar.

The centuries-old Zion Church in Tranquebar is India's oldest Protestant church and was built by Danish settlers in 1704.

A view of the Gruendler House in Tranquebar.

A derelict building in Tranquebar overgrown with vegetation.

The Governor's House in Tranquebar being restored by INTACH

The cannons on the ramparts of Fort Dansborg in Tranquebar have long been silent and were probably never used, except ceremonially.

Danish architecture of Fort Dansborg, Tranquebar.

The facade of Fort Dansborg, Tranquebar.

BYJ.JAYAKRISHNAN