FORT KOCHI

St. Francis Church

This is accessible by bus or boat from Ernakulam, 13 km away. The nearest railway station is also at Ernakulam and the nearest airport is 22 km away, in Nedumbassery. It is situated at Parade Road, 2 Km west of Mattancherry in Fort Cochin.

History - Fort Cochin is believed to be the oldest European Settlement in India and St. Francis Church was the first European Church to be built in India. Presumably it owes its origin to the Franciscan friars who accompanied the Portuguese expedition in 1500 A.D. In 1503 Alphonso Alburquerque was given permission by the Rajah of Cochin to build a fort at the mouth of the river. Within the Fort they erected a church of wood, which was dedicated to St. Bartholomew. A new Church was rebuilt in stone and roofed with tiles in 1516 and dedicated to St. Antony and it was originally named as Santo Antonio. The Church remained in the Order of St. Francis until the Dutch captured Kochi in 1663. While the Portuguese were Roman Catholics, the Dutch were Protestants. So, they ordered all European Catholic priests to quit their territory and demolished all the convents and churches in Kochi, except the Church of the Franciscans, which they reconditioned and converted into their Government Protestant Church. In 1795, the British captured Kochi from the Dutch but they allowed the latter to retain the church. But in 1804, the Dutch voluntarily surrendered it to the Anglicans. It is believed that the Anglicans changed the name of the patron saint to St.Francis. At present it has been taken over by the church of South India. The Church became a protected monument in April 1923 under the Protected Monuments Act of 1904.

Church - This west facing Church has been the model of many churches in India. It has gabled timber-framed roof covered with tiles. The doors and windows of the church have semi-circular arches. The facades are flanked on either side by a stepped pinnacle. The bell turret over the gable front in this Church, is divided into three compartments. Inside the church, the gravestones of the Portuguese and the Dutch that were removed from the floor of the nave, have been refixed respectively over the northern and southern sidewalls of the church. The gravestone of Vasco-da-Gama, laid to rest here in 1524 when he was on his third visit to India, is a major attraction there. Incidentally, after 14 years of his death, the remains were taken away to Lisbon in Portugal in 1538. The earliest Portuguese epitaph here dates back to 1562 A.D. while that of the Dutch to 1664 A.D. Some of the heraldic designs and armorial bearings on the tombstones are of fine workmanship. A few memorial brass plates and marble slabs erected in memory of important persons in service of the church are later additions adorning the walls. The Cenotaph in memory of the residents of Cochin who fell in the First Great War was erected in 1920. The hand operated Pankhas or Fans found in the church are a remainder of the British opulence of that period. The Church possess an interesting link with the past in the form of the 'Doop Book' the old baptism and marriage register from 1751-1804 which may be seen in the vestry. It was maintained for 40 years in the handwriting of Predikant Cornelies and was sent to London in 1932 for the leaves to be repaired by experts. It was then rebound in the original style. A Photostat copy takes the place of the original for scrutiny by visitors. The clock on this Church was erected in the year 1923 in memory of Hal Harrison Jones, a former Managing Director of Aspinwall and Company.

Timings - Open on all days from morning to 6 pm.

MATTANCHERRY

The Dutch Palace

It is located at at Palace Road, Mattancherry, 10 kms from Ernakulam City. History - It was built in 1555 by the Portuguese and presented to the Raja of Kochi Veera Kerala Varma (1537-65) as a gift, partly as a compensation for a temple they'd destroyed and partly as a bribe to gain favors from the ruler. The subsequent rajas made more improvements to it. It was later taken over in 1663 by the Dutch, who added some improvements before presenting it back to the Rajas of Cochin. In 1951, Mattancherry Palace was restored and declared a centrally protected monument.
Palace - The entrance to the Mattancherry Palace compound is through two arches which are typically Portuguese in character and a flight of steps through a portico on the south, gives access to a suite of public rooms on the upper level of the palace. The Palace with two floors built around a central courtyard follows the traditional Kerala style of architecture known as 'nalukettus'. From the outside, the palace looks European in character with scraped masonry & stark while walls and round-headed windows and doors but its sloping tiled brown roof and wooden balconies are indigenous features. The palace, with the interiors panelled with wood has exhibits of the Rajas of Kochi like ceremonial robes, headdresses, weapons, palanquins, furniture but the main feature is the series of astonishing murals, depicting scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranic legends connected with Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kumara, and Durga painted on the walls as well as the portriats of the rajas. The paintings cover a wide range of themes from the 'Puthra Kameshti Yagam' to Rama's return to Ayodya after vanquishing King Ravana of Lanka. The paintings totally cover nearly 1000 sq.ft in area and date from early as the 16th century through mid nineteenth century and are found in the bedchambers on the west side of the palace, in four chambers upstairs, and in two low ceiling rooms that are entered by a steep stairway. These beautiful and extensive paintings are fine examples of Kerala mural paintings best known for its unique style than the technique. The king's bedchamber or 'Palliyara' (Assembly Hall) left of the entrance occupying the southwest corner of the Palace is noteworthy with its low wooden ceiling and 300 sq feet of wall surface covered in about 48 paintings illustrating the Ramayana, from the beginning of the sacrifice of Dasaratha to Sita's return from captivity in Lanka. These paintings are the earliest in the palace, dating as early as 16th century. The last five scenes are from the 'Krishna Lila' where in a cheerful God Krishna using his six hands and two feet to engage in foreplay with eight happy milkmaids. The paintings are attributed to the artistic bent of mind of Veera Kerala Verma. Another important series of paintings in the Dutch Palace is found in the upper staircase rooms, notably that of the coronation hall (which has beautifully carved) that was made under Dutch patronage. Among the compositions are Lakshmi seated on the lotus, sleeping Vishnu (Ananthasayanamurti), Shiva and Parvati seated with Ardhanariswara and other goddesses, the coronation of Rama, Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana etc. On the opposite side of the coronation hall is the staircase room or Kovinithalam (Room No II) , with a descent to the lower storey and four paintings belonging to Shiva, Vishnu and Devi, one incomplete. The ladies chambers below the stairway are closed off to visitors. Room No. IV depict scenes from Kumarasambhavam and other works of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. The latter set of paintings belong to the eighteenth century. The eastern rectangular chambers across the rosewood covered main hall is entered through a steep stairway and an entrance porch with finely carved and painted ceiling. The first of the eastern chambers is marked by fabulous scenes of Vishnu and Siva iconography and just beyond it to the left is a small room with an unfinished but bold image of Vishnu as 'Vaikunthanatha'. These are among the latest works in the palace. The Dining Hall has carved wooden ornate ceiling decorated with a series of brass cups. The palace also contains rare examples of traditional Kerala flooring, which looks like polished black marble but is actually a mixture of burned coconut shells, charcoal, lime, plant juices and egg whites.
Temple - Inside the inner court, there stands a two-storied quadrangular building with a small temple dedicated to 'Pazhayannur Bhagavati', the protective goddess of the Kochi Royal family. Two more temples are situated on either side of the Palace dedicated to Lord Krishna and Lord Siva.

MATTANCHERRY

Jewish Synagogue

It is also known as the Paradesi Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town, adjacent to the Dutch Palace. The Mattancherry Palace temple and the Mattancherry synagogue share a common wall.
History - The oldest in Asia, it was built in 1568 when the Malabar Yehudan Jews settled in Mattancherry after their expulsion from Rahabi. The Malabari Jews formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of world wide spice trade. The synagogue was built on land given to them by Paraja, the Raja of Kochi. The original synagogue was built in the 4th century in Kodungallur (Cranganore) when the Jews had a mercantile role in the South Indian region along the Malabar coast now called Kerala. It was later moved to Kochi from Kodungallur. It was partially destroyed in the Portuguese persecution of the Malabari Jews and Nasrani people of Kerala in the 1500s and again in the war of 1662. The second synagogue, built under the protection of the Raja of Cochin along with Dutch patronage, is the present synagogue. It is called Paradesi synagogue because it was built with Dutch patronage at a time when Kochi was under Dutch occupation, thus the name paradesi synagogue or "foreign synagogue".
Synagogue - The complex has four buildings. It has the Scrolls of Law, Grand Scrolls of the Old Testament, several gold crowns received as gifts, many Belgian glass chandeliers, and a brass-railed pulpit. It houses the copper plates of privileges given to Joseph Rabban, the earliest known Cochin Jew, dating from the 10th century, written in Tamil on the two plates, by the ruler of the Malabar Coast. This records king Bhaskara Ravi Varma's 4th century decree that guaranteed the Jewish settlers domain over Cranganore (Kodungalore). The Synagogue itself is elaborately decorated with crystal chandeliers and carved wood with blue and white ceramic tiles. The floor of the synagogue is composed of hundreds of Chinese, 18th century, hand-painted porcelain tiles and beaches, all of which are unique. There is also an oriental rug, a gift from Haile Selassie, the last Ethiopian Emperor. The most visible part of the synagogue is the 18th century clocktower, which, along with other parts of the complex, underwent repair work between 1998 and 1999. A tablet from the earlier synagogue in Kochangadi in Kochi (built in 1344) is placed on the outerwall of the Paradesi synagogue. The inscription states that the structure was built in the year 5105 (in the Hebrew Calendar) as an abode for the spirit of God.
Timings - Opens from 10 am to 12 noon; 3 pm to 5pm, Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

NAYARAMBALAM

The place is located on the Vypin Island near Ernakulam. Go to Vypin from Ernakulam on boat and from there the place is about 30 minutes drive. It lies at almost in the center of Vypeen Island and is about 17 kms from Ernakulam. The name Nayarambalam comes from Njayar (Sun) and Ambalam (Temple). It is believed that a temple of the Sun existed here.

Bhagavathi temple

This Bhagavathi Temple (Njarakkal) temple is about 800 years old. It is said that earlier the Bhagavathi was sitting while facing the east direction but later changed her position to face west to save the people facing difficulties from the eroding sea.
Temple - The main prathistha diety is Sree Bhadrakali. Upaprathistas include Sree Sivan, Sree Brahmarakshass and Nagaraja. We can see minute art work inside the temple. The important place is the Tazhika koodam with art work done in Gold, the Namakara Mandapam with work in bronze and the elephant tent with fourteen pillars. The temple has a permanent Velichappadu and Thalappoli is the important festival, which is celebrated during the Malayalam month of Makaram. Thalappoli is celebrated to commerate the killing of Darikasura by Bhagavathy. The possession of elephants and the fireworks are the important attractions during the festival. The Bhagavathi here is believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Durga. She is considered both as an Ugra Roopini and Shanti Roopini. Childless devotees and those suffering from long ailments offer special prayers here.