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| 1620 Danish Fort Thrangampadi ,TN gotraveldiscoverer.wordpress.com |
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| the Danish fort cast-iron gate. Tharangampadi, en.wikipedia.org |
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| The Danish fort Tharangampadi, TN. thelostlander.wordpress.com |
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| 1620 The Danish fort Tharangampadi, Tamil Nadu. pinterest.com |
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| Danish Fort: Storage Room. tripadvisor.com |
The Dansborg Fort, also called Danish fort, is a Danish settlement built on the shore of Tharangambadi town, Nagapatnam district of Tamil Nadu and is an important Danish heritage site. Here, the rhythmic ebb and flow of the sea water, lashing on the base of the fort, reminds us of the of rise and fall of kingdoms and colonial rulers and the transient nature of our lives as well. This fort is just a remnant of a Danish settlement.
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| The Danish fort Tharangampadi, TN.gettyimages.com |
The Dansborg Fort is considered the second largest Danish Fort in the world and is the first one on the Indian soil when the Danes landed here in the 17th century to engage in trades in India. At that time, it was under the control of the ruler of Thanjavur kingdom. According to a note displayed at the fort, Sri Ragunatha Nayak, of the Thanjavur Nayak Dynasty (1600 – 1634) granted necessary permission to the Danish East India Company to build a fort with settlement and collect tariff. er a vast area close to the shores of Tranquebar, the fort has a row of rooms on the ground floor and on the first floor. There are soldiers’ quarters, warehouse, poultry room, gunpowder room and a kitchen. Because of the proximity of the sea water-logging at the base of the fort was a problem during the high tides and occasional tidal waves some time ago. The Archaeological Department paid serious attention and built an additional foundation below the pillars of the fort to beef up the structure and built a strong retaining wall around it, besides increasing the height of the wall by about five meters.
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| The Danish fort Tharangampadi, TN facebook.com |
During the last heavy monsoon, part of the wall on the western side of the fort - 55 meters long and four meters broad fell down. Engineers in the ASI used materials such jaggery, gall nut and lime for re-constructing the wall, restoring its original majesty of the by-gone era.
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| Danish fort to Tranquebar (Tharangampadi)bagndpak.blogspot.com |
The project called 'Destination Development of Tranquebar' by the Department of Tourism of Government of Tamil Nadu, the first of its kind to restore this old monument and to recreate the old Danish ambiance began in 2011. It was an ambitious attempt at reinventing and revitalizing the small erstwhile Danish town to put it back to the past glory. They carried out the work under the guidance of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) &
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| the Danish fort Tranquebar - Yahoo ... |
The work included cobble-stoned pathways, a significant marker of Danish settlements. The façade of the Dansborg Fort, including the Goldsmith Street, was repaired to accommodate a rectangular walkway paved by cobble-stones and incorporating ornamental iron cast gate and street lamps alongside both characteristic of Danish town planning design. Construction of flat granite benches on the path ways was done for the benefit of visitors for fun and relaxation.
One interesting aspect of this restoration project was, for the first time, due importance was given to environmental protection as it is an ASI - protected heritage site. The plan includes restraining movement of heavy vehicles in its vicinity of the site. As it is, the cobble-stoned pathways, will act as a natural hindrance on vehicular movement in the vicinity of the Fort. This will positively help retain the highest concentration of atmospheric ozone and and it will be conducive to the availability of fresh air. The various woks were done in phases with available funds.
The State Archaeological Department, does the renovation work in several packages. Improvement of basic amenities needed for the visitors, landscaping of the site, setting up pathways and beautification by planting horticultural plants and tender roots and setting up of galleries, including provision of electrical lights.
The renovation is is done at an estimate of Rs.4.83 crore funded by the Asian Development Bank. The work, which began in September 2014, will be completed before 2016.
Tit-Bits:
There is a small museum on this site and on display are the numerous articles used by the Danish during their stay here. It includes the Nayak period lock, porcelain dolls, old and new Danish glass cups, Chinese jar and idol of Sun God, etc.
Ref:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/dansborg-fort-set-to-get-a-facelif
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/danish-fort-getting-renovated/article8775263.ece
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