Tranquebar

A Danish 17th-century fort facing the coast. The construction of the fort began immediately after the arrival of the first Danish trading expedition and the establishment of a treaty regulating trading rights between the Nayak Raghunatha in Thanjavur and the Danish East India Company in 1620. Until the end of the 17th century the fort was used for residential and storage purposes; subsequent increase in population forced the Danes to move out and occupy surrounding areas as well. While it used to be crumbling away, the Fort has been renovated by Indian volunteers and Danish non-profit organisations. It houses a small museum inside that has some artifacts and a history of the Danish Settlement.

The New Jerusalem Church was built in 1718 by the German missionary Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg. It replaced the old Jerusalem Church which proved too small for the growing local Christian population. The church has a cross-like floor plan. The Danish coat of arms is inscribed on the top of the gateway leading to the interiors of the church. The interior contains several memorial plaques and even a few graves including that of Ziegenbalg. The church is housed in a large compound which also has several graves.

Small cemetery that holds the whitewashed graves of several Danish colonial officials and tradesmen. Don't expect a Danish style cemetery as found in Copenhagen. It is a small compound with a locked gate and several headstones standing forlornly in a barren patch of land.

'Landporten' as the Town Gate is called in Danish forms part of the fortifications that were built around Tranquebar in the 1660s. In 1791 the original gate was destroyed and the existing one constructed in its place.

The press where Ziegenbalg printed his first Tamil Bible still stands and is located inside a local school. The printing press is displayed along with the printed copy of the first Tamil Bible. The handwritten Tamil Bible by Ziegenbalg is also on display. The press is still functional and one can gets his name printed in Tamil by using the blocks made by Ziegenbalg.

Consecrated in 1701, it is the oldest Protestant Church in India. Prominent with its combination of colonial and Indian architectural features, its construction together with the fortification of the town marked the moving out and spreading of the Danish population into the surrounding settlement. The structure went through many reconstructions before it reached its present form.

The plaque commemorates the landing of the first Ev Lutheran missionaries to India. The plaque stands at the very spot where Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plutschau landed on 9 July 1706. It was erected in 1906 by the Leipzig Ev Luth Mission to celebrate the 200 years of landing. The plaque is mounted on an irregular mountain-like memorial topped with a cross. The plaque was severely damaged during the tsunami of 2004. In 2012 the monument was upgraded, with a stone-tiled floor and low octagonal boundary wall.

Tharangambadi Maritime Museum is housed in the former residence of the Danish Commander. The 18th-century bungalow. It was restored by the Danish Tranquebar Association. It now houses the Tranquebar Maritime Museum. The museum contains a remains of an old ship along with boats and other maritime artifacts. Also, there is a section dedicated to marine creatures. A golden statue of Ziegenbalg stands at the entrance of the museum. The statue was put up in 2006 to commemorate the tercentenary of his landing. Plaques both in English and Tamil mention the achievements of Ziegenbalg.