Along the stretch of Coromandel Coast, there exists a tiny hamlet ‘Tharangambadi’ a place well known for its rich heritage and legacy imparting knowledge on various visitors and their cultures. With yet another name embedded in its history as ‘Land of singing waves’ the Tharangambadi hamlet has witnessed various rulers from Nayaks, Danish, British and finally with the Independent India. Besides, Tharangambadi has also sustained several name changes alike its owners from being called as Trankebar, Tranquebar and finally to Tharangambadi.
According to the historians here, fascinated with the India’s rich legacy and eyeing an establishment center here, Danes were first to touch the shores of ‘Tharangambadi’ which was often dubbed as ‘land of singing waves’ due to the enchanting hymns of the sea waves in its coast. As per the historical records, on May 5, 1620 AD by then King Vijaya Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur province granted permission to the King Christian IV, his counterpart of Denmark to establish a trade center at Tharangambadi by fixing a rent for ` 3,111. Later on the very same year through a Danish Navy captain Roland Crappe, King of Denmark purchased the Tharangambadi and surrounding area from the Thanjavur king, which paved way for the Danes to began establishing the stone fort ‘Dansborg’ at the coastal village. And on 1777 AD, Tharangambadi came under the complete control of Danes. After 68 years of Danish regime, Tharangambadi for yet another time sold to British with a capital amount of ` 12.5 lakhs. As centuries have past and witnessing the change of owners from Danes to British and then to Independent India, the majestic fort located at the coast still attracts tourists with its rich legacy.
Timeline
- 1629- During the Danish rule, Tharangambadi was renamed as Trankebar and then as Tranquebar for convenience.
- 1845- British colony bought Tranquebar `12.5 Lakhs from Danes and it was served for little time as Capital of the erstwhile Thanjavur province.
- 1986- The Tamil Nadu government changed the name Tranquebar as ‘Tharangambadi’ in both English and Tamil.
The gigantic two storey ‘Dansborg fort’ stands as a testimony for the rich cultural heritage of Tharangambadi, with the first floor of the fort accommodate spaces for large canons to spearhead the attacks, few large rooms are also present which has been believed to be constructed for administrative purposes. The ground floor of the fort hosts spaces for prisons and animal stables, besides a tunnel way for the royals to abandon the fort in case of an enemy siege are found. However, the tunnel fearing toxic gaseous and insects has been prohibited. After the takeover of Tharangambadi by the British, Tharangambadi served as district headquarters of the erstwhile Thanjavur district from 1845 to 1862 with an establishment of collector’s bungalow at King’s street of Tharangambadi.
Apart from the historical legacy, Tharangambadi beach is well known for its rich ozone content. It was identified as the one of the Ozone richest beach in the world by various observatories conducted by the Danes in 1960’s and also by the local researchers here. However, the presence of Ozone (O3) content and its prevention from the hazardous ultraviolet rays in the sun light still remain as a least known fact to the majority of the locals here. The ozone content in air is said to be on its high during the span of April to July.
