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Even a
casual stroll through Fort Kochi located in the port city of Kochi in
Kerala is enough to make you feel transported to another world and time.
The architectural style of the buildings and the town layout easily make
Fort Cochin distinct from other cities and towns of Kerala.
Since Fort
Cochin was under the possession of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the
British at different points of time, the region still bear the influence
of European architecture. Fort Kochi is one of the three main urban
regions that constitute the present day Kochi city. The other two
regions together comprising the Kochi city are Mattancherry and
Ernakulam. |
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Interestingly, the port city of Kochi was initially a municipal town
from 1866 to 1967. It was later in the year 1967 that these three
principal municipalities and few adjoining areas were joined to form the
new corporation of Kochi.
Fort Cochin is counted among the major tourist attractions of present
day Kochi in Kerala, but it was earlier a fishing village of no
significance during the pre-colonial Kerala. It was christened as Fort
Kochi after this territory was given to the Portuguese in the year 1503
by the Raja of Kochi. The Raja gave the Portuguese the permission to
build a fort near the waterfront to protect their commercial interests.
The fort that the Portuguese, thus, built here was named Fort Emmanuel
and it is from the name of this fort that 'Fort Kochi' derived the first
part of its name. Fort Emmanuel was, however, later destroyed by the
Dutch. It was behind this Fort Emmanuel that the Portuguese built their
settlement and a wooden church, which was rebuilt in the year 1516 as a
permanent structure world famous as the
St Francis Church in the present times. Believed to be the first
church built by Europeans in India, it is here that the body of Vasco Da
Gama was buried initially before his remains being shipped to Lisbon in
Portugal later.
Since Cochin in Kerala was an important trading zone for foreign
travelers and seafarers, the ownership of the Fort Kochi region passed
many hands. It, however, remained a Portuguese possession for almost 160
years until the year 1683,k when the Dutch captured the territory.
They then
held Fort Kochi under their possession for 112 years until the year
1795, thereafter which the British took over control by defeating the
Dutch. The 444 years of foreign control of Fort Kochi or Fort Cochin
finally ended with India gaining independence in 1947.
How to
reach
Once you reach Kochi City of Kerala, you can take a cab, auto-rickshaw
or bus to Fort Kochi.
The nearest airport is
Cochin International Airport.
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