DANES COLONIAL

ARCHITECTURE

The Danes were trading on the river

Hooghly as early as 1620 and

founded a settlement named
Tranquebar and a century later
Frederiksnagar, later renamed
Serampore, near to Calcutta.

Tranquebar
Fort

Dansborg
was the base for
Danish
settlement in the
region during the
early
17th
century.

Originally

a fishing

village,
Tharangambadi
(referred
as
Tranquebar)
was
fortified
by
the
Danish, who used the
port as the main
trading post for the
colony,
with
the
major export of the

During the middle of the 18th century, the

commercial importance of the town

declined and the centre of textile
production moved to Serampore in the
state ofBengal.
But

Tranquebar
still
remained
headquarters of the Colony.

The

the

fort and the town was sold to

theBritishin
1845
and,
along
with
Tharangambadi, the fort lost its significance
as the town was not a trading post anymore

One

of the characteristics that sets

Tranquebar apart from the neighbouring
towns and villages is the Danish colonial
architecture the houses, villas and the
fort that remind the visitor of their former
presence.
The town is perceived as unique because
of this architectural setting which is an
outcome of a synthesis between Danish
and local Tamil vernacular.

Architecture
Fort

Dansborg is located in the

southern
part
ofTharangambadi,
located 283km (176mi) from the
state capitalChennai.

It

is
built
in
Danish
style,
characterized
by
large
halls,
columned structures, high ceilings
and projecting drapery

The length of the fort in the side facing

the sea is 60m (200ft) and the width is

about 11m (36ft).
The fort is trapezoidal in shape with three
rooms in the left wing, originally used as
the governor's residence, a kitchen with
an open fireplace and chimney in the top
left hand corner, and a church room, now
a museum, located in the centre of the
building.
The original rectory and the northern part
of it, which are now the store rooms, are
located in the right wing.

The corner room on the

right
side
was
the
residence
of
the
commercial director.
In modern times, it is
used as a store room.
The core of the building is
made of brick.
The main door of the fort
faces north, while an
additional door faces the
east.
The second storey of the
fort has a set of guard
rooms.

The staircase leading to it are built with

bricks.
The central part of the fort has four camel
hump shaped domes.
The central pillar of the hall holds the entire
weight of the domes.

The

citadel encloses a set of

buildings,

the notable ones being the fort

built in 1620,

the Masilamani Nathar Temple

built in the 13th century,

the Zion Church built in 1701,

New Jerusalem Church built in

1718,

the Town Gateway built in 1792,

the Danish Governor Bungalow

built in 1784

Zion's Church
It

is the oldest
Church of India.

protestant

Prominent with its combination

of
colonial
and
Indian
architectural
features,
its
construction together with the
fortification of the town marked
the moving out and spreading
of the Danish population into
the surrounding settlement.

The structure went through several

reconstructions, refurbishments and

facelifts before it was brought to
the present form.
It has a spiked dome.

Masilamani Nathar Temple

The

700
year
old
Masilamani
Nathar
Temple built in 1306 by
the
Pandya
King
Maravarmam Kulasekara
Pandyan is unique in its
architecture.

New Jerusalem Church

TheNew

Jerusalem
Churchof
Tranquebar
dates back to the 17th
century.
The church was built by
Bartholomaeus
Ziegenbalg,
the
first
protestant
missionary
from Denmark.
It is believed that this
church was established
after the arrival of German

The

church
was
constructed mainly for
the converted Indians.

New Jerusalem Church

has a small cemetery

that dates back to 18th
century.
In the churchyard of the

pretty,
whitewashed
New Jerusalem Church
is buried Bartholomaus
Zeigenbalg, the Danish
missionary.

Town Gateway
the Town Gate, built to mark the entrance of

Tharangambadi in the year 1660.

Landporten , as the Town Gate is

called in Danish, is part of the

fortifications built around the town of
Tranquebar in the 1660s.
In 1791 the original gate, which was
in
a
deteriorated
state,
was
demolished and replaced by a new
one designed by the then governor,
Peter Anker and executed by the
engineer, Mhldorff, in 1792.
The flanking guard posts are missing
from the original plan.

Now though, part of it has been

encroached upon by settlements,

huts stand alongside the gate
rubbing shoulders with it, nullifying
its effect as an entrance to the village
that stands testimony to a piece of
history owing to its colonial past.

Danish Governor Bungalow

This building got its name as it was used as

residence of Danish Governor in 1784.

The Old Danish Cemetery

Presumably laid out in connection with the

erection of the fort in the 1620s; due to

the high mortality rates of the European
settlers, the establishment of a cemetery
must have been necessary from the very
beginning.
In the 1600s it was connected to the

Dansborg Chapel and after 1701, to Zion

Church.
To this day the names of several Danish

colonial officials and tradesmen can be

The settlement inside the citadel is modeled like

a small European town with a land gate and

wooden doors leading to the main street,
namely, the King's Street.
Some of the notable buildings in the King's street
are the Gate House, Muhldorff's House, Port
Master's Bungalow and Rehling's House.
There were originally citadel walls towards the
sea, which eroded with time on account of the
salty nature of the environment.
The fortification could not withstand an attack by
regular military forces, but acted as a protection
for the citizens of the settlement against
predatory cavalry raids.
The bastions of the fort are constructed with
black stone.

Serampore

In 1755 the Danish Asiatic Company

was granted the right to establish a

trading
post
at
Serampore
(Srirampur) at the Hooghly River in
West Bengal, about 25 km north of
Calcutta (Kolkata).
The name of the place was officially

changed
to
Frederiksnagore
in
honour of the Danish King Frederik V,
however, the local name was
maintained in daily use.

Subsequently Serampore came under

direct administration of the Danish

Crown in 1777 and remained on
Danish hands, with only a few
interruptions, until 1845, when the
trading post was ceded to the British
together with the other Danish
settlement
in
India,
Tranquebar
(Tharangambadi) in Tamil Nadu.
Apart
from
its
position
as
a
commercial settlement, Serampore
became an important centre of
education and learning in India.

Several buildings originating from the Danish

period are still significant landmarks,

contributing to the distinct identity of
Serampore:
The Danish Government House (1771),
The Catholic Church (1776),
The Lutheran St. Olavs church (1806), and
The Serampore College (1823).

1810 . A view of Serampore from the river

showing the long row of stately villas (1810.
Hammer).

The Danish Government

compound
The Danish Government compound dates back

to 1755 when the Asiatic Company established

their trading post in Serampore.
Due to the political unrest in the area at the

time, the Company felt it necessary to surround

the small estate by a protective wall.
Within this wall, the government house was

erected together with a powder magazine, a

guardroom, a jail, a kitchen, a henhouse, a
godown and quarters for the staff and officers

The compound and all the related

structures were laid out according to

a northsouth axis leading from the
Nishan Ghat with the flag staff at the
river bank onwards through the
northern
main
gate
to
the
government house and to the
southern gateway building.

1830. The compound in front of the Government House. Behind the

low wall on the left was a garden used as a retreat for the Danish
Governor and the higher ranking officers

1827 . The Danish government compound (1827.

Thompson).

1860 . The Danish government compound (1860.

Gastrell).

2009. Plan of the government compound

The main gate

A brick-built gate on the northern

side of the compound is first

mentioned in the records in 1772
and parts of the original structure
are possibly incorporated in the
present gate.
Shortly

after
the
British
occupation of Serampore 1808-15
the gate was rebuilt with paired
pilasters headed by Ionic capitals
and a triangular pediment

The compound wall

The first wall around the compound

from 1755 was erected in clay and

straw and needed repeatedly repair
during the monsoon.
In 1780, on the initiative of Governor
Ole Bie, the mud wall was replaced by
a more durable brick wall at the total
length of approximately 600 m of
which large parts are still preserved

The western part along Church Street is

approximately 150m long with a thickness of

0.72 m and a height of about 3.20 m.

The water tank

On

the western part of the

compound,
the
town
engineer
Gtting dug out a new water tank in
1786 and constructed the brick-built
steps leading down to the water

The southern gateway

building
Immediately to the south of the Danish

government house, the compound contains

a ruined but highly interesting gateway
building, which was probably constructed
some time after the British occupation
1808-15

During

the
Danish
and
the
subsequent
British
period
the
building functioned as a detention
and safekeeping for stolen effects
seized by the police.

When the orientation of the town

shifted away from the river towards

the new railway station after 1854,
this southern gateway probably
became the preferred entrance to the
compound and the government
house, which was reconstructed and

The small building is very well proportioned

with a perfect symmetrical lay-out around

the middle axis of the compound.
The richly ornamented northern faade
have paired pilasters with Ionic capitals
and triangular pediments of the classical
order above the window openings.
To the south, facing on to the Bhadubi
Sarani street, the gateway is emphasised
by rusticated masonry.

The Danish Government

house

The Danish government house was from

the establishment in 1755 the centre of the

Danish administration, as well as the
private residence of the Head of
Serampore.
Initially the government house was a
simple mud and wattle construction with a
thatched roof consisting of a hall, four
large rooms, two small rooms, two
verandas and one godown

The major part of this building collapsed during

a dinner party on 2nd December 1770.

The remaining part was demolished and in 1771

the Danish Head of Serampore, Johan Leonard

Fix (1770-1773) began the construction of a
new brick-built government house consisting of
a hall, two rooms and a veranda.
In

1781 funds were allocated for the

construction of the new veranda, built as a
monumental front portico in the Ionic order, and
two rooms were added at each side of the
building, extending the whole length ofthe
faade.

In 1832 the Government House was reported

to contain 4 large rooms in the centre, 5

smaller rooms with open verandas to each
side, as well as a large veranda to the south
with a terrace
Above. The same year two additional rooms

have been fitted up at each end of the

southern veranda, most likely by adding two
new partition walls inside the veranda.
In 1842 and 1843 an upper story was added

with a roof pavilion rising above the facade

below, thereby creating the proportions of an
Italian palazzo .

When the building was transferred to the

British in 1845 it thus consisted of three

large rooms and eight side rooms on the
ground floor and two rooms on the upper
story.
The transformation of the building has

taken place over a period of about 200

years and each building phase reflects the
varying style and fashion of the day.
The many alterations and extensions give
the building a special character and
immense importance as one of the oldest
buildings in the town, reflecting the history
of Serampore through the Danish, British

The jail and court building

(Catcherie)
The Danish administration of Serampore was

very limited in terms of both staff and

financial means.
Still

the
Danish
Governor
had
the
responsibility of maintaining law and order in
the town, which implied the dealing with all
kinds of criminal cases as well as religious
disputes.

A court house and jail, or Catcherie* as it was

termed at the time, was therefore a necessary

measure of the Danish judicial system.
The first Danish jail in Serampore was a single
building, containing two rooms only with a
veranda and a surrounding brick wall.
In 1787 some attempts were made to improve
the existing jail by extending the open
backyard and by adding a new bathroom.
However, during the British occupation 18011802 the building was not maintained
properly, and the whole complex became
hereafter dilapidated and not considered
worthy of renovation.

A new plot was bought in 1803 and the

Danish engineer and Major, B. A. von

Wickede, prepared a plan for a new jail
or Catcherie.
The new jail was inaugurated the same
year and apart from a court house it
consisted of a number of separate
gaols for the different ethnic and
religious communities.
In 1832 the prison was further
extended with a new ward for women
and a wall surrounding the adjoining
courtyard.

St. Olav's church

Funded

partly
by
private
subscription
in
Denmark
and
Serampore and partly by public
grants, the construction of St.
Olavs church was initiated in 1800
by the Danish Governor Ole Bie.
The nave was completed in 1806, a
year after the decease of Ole Bie,
whereas the portico and the bell
tower were completed in 1821 .
The
church became a major
landmark of Serampore, appearing
at all the early depictions of the
town.

The original drawing from

1806,
signed
by
the
English
lieutenant
Alexander
Armstrong,
shows the plan, elevation
and
future
internal
organisation of the church.
Planned as a three aisle
building with a flat roof
and an open portico the
design was later modified
by adding a pediment with
a broken cornice featuring
the royal monogram of the
Danish King Christian VII.

The interior is sparsely decorated with

some stucco work high on the walls in the

choir.
Otherwise there is no adornment apart
from six commemorative tablets along the
southern aisle wall.
At the steeple are two bells of European
origin, but none of them is in use anymore.

Architectural drawing
by Lt. Armstrong
dated 1806

The Catholic Church

Built 1776 the Roman Catholic Church is the

oldest church in Serampore. The building replaced

a chapel dating from 1764, which had become too
small to serve the growing Catholic community.
Auxiliary buildings were constructed on an
adjoining piece of land in 1780 for the
accommodation of the priest. The buildings were
further extended in 1841 and a second story
added to it

Serampore College
Serampore College was founded in

1818 and soon after the construction

of a new building was initiated at a
large site close to the river, adjoining
the botanical garden and the printing
house.

The main building.

Situated

within
a
pleasant and well kept
green area, the main
building of Serampore
College and the former
residence of William
Carey as well as the
ancillary buildings are
major
landmarks
of
Serampore today.

Built to a square plan in two

stories, the main faade towards

the river is dominated by a giant
portico in the Ionic Order with a
perfect symmetry around a
middle axis.
The rear side was originally
finished by a semi circular apse
which was later destroyed in an
earthquake.
The
spacious
double
high
entrance hall is furnished with a
large double staircase executed
in cast iron, just as the main
gate of the compound, which
opens towards the river.

The Mission Cemetery

The cemetery of the Baptist mission is

situated close to the present Dey Street,

which at the time of establishment was on the
outskirts of Serampore.
For the use of the land, the mission society
paid an annual rent to the Danish government

The Danish Cemetery

The Danish cemetery in Serampore was

reserved for Protestants and adjoining to it,

separated by a low wall, was the burial
ground of the Roman Catholics. In the early
period the ground was only fenced by a
living hedge, which was replaced by a brick
wall in the 1770s