1st Edition fortkochi
Fort Kochi has a diverse blend of people, cultures and events that is reflected in the old-world charm of its soul. The buildings are a prime personification of the different influencers in the area. At different times in its history, these colonial powers had occupied the area for centuries. All of them left indelible marks on Fort Kochi's geography and culture, and made significant contributions to art and architecture. It is the old buildings which most clearly reveal this deep-rooted colonial influence that have made them prime research material for archaeologists and history aficionados for a long time. Below we have listed some of these great monuments that must be visited when one is in the Fort Kochi area.
History lingers in the air in Fort Kochi, as you walk its cobbled streets and tree-lined lanes, past the cafes and bistros. The oldest fishing village in Kerala, the Portuguese ruled here from 1503 to 1682, followed by the Dutch till 1795, and then the British until the year India became independent. If you stand in the middle of Parade Ground, the square around which Fort Kochi is built, in one direction you can see David Hall, a bungalow built by the Dutch in the late 17th century, and in another direction, Cochin Club, an institution once exclusively meant for British men. Rooted at the same spot, if you turn, there’s St. Francis Church, the oldest European church in India housing the gravestone of the explorer Vasco de Gama.
Architecture isn’t the only remnant of the past here. The 500 years of migration have left the 4.5 square kilometre area of Old Kochi, the collective name given to Fort Kochi and the adjacent Mattancherry, with a deep sense of multiculturalism. At least 32 communities live here, speaking at least 16 languages, other than Malayalam, according to Bonny Thomas, a local historian and a founder-member of Kochi Biennale Foundation, the charitable trust that hosts the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
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