The beauty of this small , historic coastal town is that it can be explored on foot. Major points of interest like the heritage buildings, museums and the beach are in about a kilometer or two spread.
This is a great opportunity for people who love to walk. I did most of my walking towards evenings.
Mornings and afternoons can be bright and sunny. Carry your umbrellas and sunscreens along.
Sunglasses and scarves to cover the head will come in mighty handy. Of course keep a bottle of water handy at all times. Eating options are few here. I had carried along some bread , cheese , fruit in my picnic basket. Bought some fresh cucumber and tomatoes locally to make some sandwiches.
For lunch you can even drive down to Karaikal which is about 15 km drive from here. Since Karaikal is part of Puducherry (UT) liquor is cheap . I got some red wine for myself.
Lets see how to explore Tranquebar and where to start.
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| Landporten (in Danish) |
This is the gateway to Tranquebar. This has the Dansih insignia inscribed on it.
You can think of it as the gate which transports you into the charming Danish era.
The town gateway was made in 1792.
This leads to the "Kings' Street " where all the major churches and old buildings are lined. On reaching the "T" point , a road branches to the left , is the "Queens's Street" where the main attraction is India's first printing press . This is located on the second left turning. More about this later. But it is easy to miss as it is not marked. The right will lead to the parking towards the Dansborg Fort.
Do take some time to study this board which you will see on the left as you enter the gateway.
This clearly demarcates all the major historical monuments.
At the end of the road of course is the beach, with Dansborg Fort on the right, Neemrana property on the left.
This is a view of the Kings Street which is leading from the gateway .
Here at the "T" point junction you get to see the following as well :
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| Ziegenbalg statue at the corner of King and Queens street |
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| Ziegenbalg golden statue with Bible in hand |
Two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau were among the first protestant missionaries to set foot n India. They began work in 1705 . Ziegenbalg gets the distinction of setting up the first printing press in India and translating the Old and New Testament into Tamil. For that he learnt the Tamil language as well.
Ahead of this monument is : Danish Indian cultural centre. This houses a museum and a souvenir shop which is a must visit.
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| Entrance to the cultural centre |
I got hold of an article, DNA, which describes the center as-
The 337-year-old heritage building near the seashore at Tarangambadi in the district, which once served as the official residence of Danish military commanders, has been renovated and converted into a Danish-Indian cultural centre and archaeological museum.
Danish Tranquebar Association, a voluntary organisation in Denmark comprising prominent Danish citizens, which has undertaken a project to renovate ancient Danish monuments at Tarangambadi, has established the cultural center.
Lets take a look inside the Center :
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| Souvenirs for sale here at the entrance |
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| Queer old bottle filled with porcelain pieces from the Danish era!! |
Here you can sit and read books. The photographs here are prints whereas the originals are retained in the Dutch Museum.
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| Rock solid wooden boat has withstood the test of time |
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| Dutch porcelain still pristine |
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| This beetle seemed to be positioned in a manner as if clipping the net together |
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| Skeletal remains |
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| Inside the boat and the old net |
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| Pond net |
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| Old storage box |
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| These old danish coins are for sale |
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| My husband holds on to an old anchor |
We climbed up to check the view from the top of the center where some renovation work was going on. The door looks like a piece of art .
Dansborg Fort is visible in the background from the terrace of the Danish culture center.
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| i was too much in love with the door not to pose with it !!! |
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| Rust has got the better of this anchor |
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We got some souvenirs , entered our comments in the visitors log, thanked the pleasant staff and moved on.
Right outside as you turn left is the old governors house.
We shall continue to do some more explorations in the next part
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