City in West Bengal, India
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Serampore (শ্রীরামপুর Shrīrāmpur) is a town in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, on the western bank of the Hooghly River. One of the rare Danish colonies of India, Serampore is unique for its Danish-British-Bengali heritage.
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The former seat of government of Serampore, originally a home of Ole Bie, who built the Danish colony.
Danish Church
The Protestant church was once the centre for all European social and religious events. The church never had a Danish pastor, and was instead being managed by the Serampore Trio. The building is flat roofed, inside and out. Although the design is not particularly Scandinavian, but it reflects the designs of churches in Kolkata back then. The entrance has an open portico of twin columns under a broken-base pediment containing the royal monogram of Danish king Christian VII. Above the portico is a bell tower that also contains a clock. Its white spire is visible from as far away as Barrackpore on the opposite bank.
The first college in Asia to award a degree. It was built in 1818 by the Serampore Trio. The college compound contains a museum dedicated to William Carey.
The cemetery where the Serampore Trio and their relatives are buried. The graves of William Carey, his wife Dorothy, and son Felix are lying side by side. Need a prior permission to visit.
An old temple where Henry Martyn lived for some months. He was a Cantabrigian priest, who arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) as an East India Company chaplain. He lived in India for several years before going to Iran, and he died there at 31. He was considered an introvert and an intense character.
The famous Jagannath temple in Serampore, known for organising the oldest Ratha Yatra in Bengal, after the Puri Ratha Yatra. It is said to have been celebrated since 1396. It is a week-long festival and a grand fair is held at that time. People throng to have a share in pulling the long ropes (রস্যি rasyi) attached to the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra on the journey from the temple to Mahesh Gundicha Bari and back within the eighth day.
A heritage café-cum-lodge established in 1786 by British innkeeper James Parr.
By car
The famous Grand Trunk Road runs through Serampore as SH 6. SH 13 acts as a bypass of SH 6 and is a better way to reach Serampore if you don't want to follow the now-congested GT Road.
By ferry
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