Mattancherry Palace

Mattancherry Palace situated at Palace Road,

Mattancherry, Kochi.
It was built by the Portuguese and presented to Veera
Kerala Varma (1537-65), Raja of Kochi, in 1555 AD.
The Dutch carried out some extensions and
renovations in the palace in 1663, and thereafter it was
popularly called Dutch Palace.

Plan Of The Palace

The palace is a quadrangular structure built in Nlukettu style, the
traditional Kerala style of architecture, with a courtyard in the middle.
In the courtyard there stands a small temple dedicated to
'Pazhayannur Bhagavati', the protective goddess of the Kochi royal
family. There are two more temples on either side of the Palace, one
dedicated to Lord Krishna and the other to Lord Siva. Certain
elements of architecture, as for example the nature of its arches and
the proportion of its chambers are indicative of European influence in
basic Nluketttu style.
The Dining Hall has carved wooden
ornate ceiling decorated with a series
of brass cups. The palace also
contains rare examples of traditional
Kerala flooring, which looks like
polished black marble but is actually a
mixture of burned coconut shells,
charcoal, lime, plant juices and egg
whites.

GLORY OF THE PALACE

Murals
The king's bedchamber or Palliyara, to
the left of the entrance and occupying
the southwest corner of the Palace, is
noteworthy with its low wooden ceiling
and 300 sq ft (28 m2) of wall surface
covered with about 48 paintings. These
illustrate the Ramayana, from the
beginning of the sacrifice of Dasaratha
to Sita's return from captivity in Lanka.
The paintings in this section are the
earliest in the palace, dating back to the
16th century.

The last five scenes are from the 'Krishna

Lila' where in a cheerful God Krishna using
his six hands and two feet to engage in
foreplay with eight happy milkmaids.[2]
The paintings are attributed to the artistic
bent of mind of Veera Kerala Verma.

The Jewish Community Of Cochin

The jews of the area are divided into three groups,white jews,black jews and
meshuchrarim.
The black jews have separate synagogues from the whites.
The third group were manumitted slaves and their offspring were attached to either
of the communities.
Two waves of jewish immigration converged on cochin in the early decades of the
16th century.
Jews came from cranganore(shinkhali) and secondly jews and new christians came
from spain and portugal.
In 1502-1663 under the portuguese rule the rajah of cochin welcomed the new
jewish immigrants and allotted them lands to build their homes and synagogues
within the proximity of the palace in mattencheri now known as jew town and
granted them religious and cultural autonomy.

Paradesi Synagogue
The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest
synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations,
located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. The
synagogue is located in the quarter of Old
Cochin known as Jew Town, and is the only
one of the seven synagogues in the area still in
use.
It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people
or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of
Cochin. The synagogue was historically used by
"White Jews", a mixture of Jews from Cranganore,
the Middle East, and European exiles.

Synagogues
The eclectic buildings of the synagogue complex are dominated by
an imposing 18th-century clock tower, which has faces with Roman,
Hebrew, and Malayalam numerals. It is thought that a face with
Arabic numerals also adorned the clock, but no evidence of it
remains.
Cochin synagogues are unique in the world in that they feature two
bimahs. The primary one can be found within the sanctuary's main
level where men have always sat. The second, used during holidays
and special events, is found on the gallery level adjacent to the
space dedicated for women's seating.

 Found within all Indian synagogues is a central bimah (platform

where the religious service is led), a Sephardic Jewish tradition.
Other features of Indian synagogues are free-standing wooden
benches, a profusion of hanging glass and metal oil lanterns, large
shuttered windows with clerestories, a chair for the circumscion
ceremony and one for the prophet Elijah, and separate seating areas
for men and women.

 The Paradesi Synagogue has

the Scrolls of the Law,
several gold crowns received
as gifts, many Belgian glass
chandeliers, and a brassrailed pulpit. It houses the
copper plates of privileges
given to Joseph Rabban, the
earliest known Cochin Jew,
dating from the 10th century,
written in Tamil on the two
plates, by the ruler of the
Malabar Coast. The floor of the
synagogue is composed of
hundreds of Chinese, 18th
century, hand-painted porcelain
tiles, all of which are unique.

There is also an oriental rug, a

gift from Haile Selassie, the
last Ethiopian Emperor.The
most visible part of the
synagogue is the 18th century
clocktower, which, along with
other parts of the complex,
underwent repair work between
1998 and 1999.

 Hebrew inscription at the

Mattancherry synagogue
A tablet from the earlier
synagogue in Kochangadi in
Kochi (built in 1344) is placed
on the outerwall of the
Paradesi synagogue. The
inscription states that the
structure was built in the year
5105 (in the Hebrew Calendar)
as an abode for the spirit of
God.

Christianity
Christianity took root on the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in the first
century AD around the seven churches that St. Thomas established
there. Christian faith has since flourished across the land, coexisting
with other religions. Now 11 of the 23 dioceses in India are in Kerala.
The lure of spices attracted traders from the Middle East
and Europe to the many trading ports
Calicut, Cranganore, Cochin, Alleppey and Quilon
- long before the time of Christ. And it was on a trading vessel plying
between Alexandria and the Malabar coast that
St. Thomas the Apostle arrived in Cranganore in 52 AD.

 There he began preaching the Gospel. His teachings were accepted

not only by those who chose to become Christians but also by those
who chose to remain Hindus. The teachings eventually got integrated
into the beliefs and traditions of the local communities, into their
family history, into their songs and dances. St. Thomas established
seven Christian communities or churches in Kerala. They are in
Cranganore, Paravur(Kottakavu), Palayoor, Kokkamangalam,
Malayattoor, Niranam, Chayal (Nilackal) and Kollam (Quilon).
Throughout Kerala, one can find Christian families that are proud to
claim descent from ancestors who were baptized by Apostle Thomas
The Church in Kerala had a high missionary spirit. Christians from
Malabar spread their faith as far as Maldives and Indonesia.

 The arrival of Vasco da Gama, however, marked the start of a turning

point and heralded a new struggle for the East Syrian Church.
Because the Portugese, who later established trading posts in Goa,
Daman and Diu north of Kerala, moved against the East Syrian
Church leading to tragic, ecclesiastical incidents.
Today, there are 23 dioceses in India. Eleven of them are in Kerala
with a number of priests from Kerala working in many parts of the world.
Kerala has one vocation (priest brother, sister) for every 70 Catholics.
No other community in the world has so many vocations.
Most of the Syrian families have a priest, a religious guide and mentor.

SANTA CRUZ BASILICA

SANTA CRUZ BASILICA

HISTORY

ORIGINALLY BULIT BY THE POTUGESE AND THEN ELEVATED TO A

CATHERDRAL BY POPE JOHN PAUL IV
ENSDOWED WITH ARCHITECTURQL AND ARTISTIC GRANDUER AND
COLOURS OF THE GOTHIC STYLE.
THE DUTCH CONQUERED COCHIN AND DESTROYED ALL CTHOLIC
BULIDINGS.THEY MADE THE CATHEDRAL THEIS ARM HOUSE.
Later it fell into the hands of the British who demolished it when they took
over Kochi in 1795. One of the decorative granite pillars of the destroyed
Cathedral is still kept as a monument at the southeastern corner of the
present Basilica premises.
About 100 years later, Bishop D. Joo Gomes Ferreira (1887 - 1897) who
reached Cochin took initiative to erect the Cathedral and commenced the
construction but it was the next bishop, D. Mateus de Oliveira Xavier
(1897 1908) who completed the edifice. The cathedral was consecrated
on November 19, 1905 by Dom Sebastio Jos Pereira, Bishop of Damao

SANTA CRUZ BASILICA

ARCHITECTURAL
THE CHURCH HAS TWO LOFTY SPIRES
WHITE WASHED EXTERIOR AND PASTEL COLOURED INTERIORS
THE INTERIORS ARE GOTHIC WITH THE MAIN ALTAR
DECORATED BY THE FAMOUS ITALIAN PAINTER Br. Moschini.
The COLUMNS decorated with FRESCOES AND MURALS, the
seven large canvas paintings on the passion and death on the
Cross, especially the painting of the Last Supper, modelled on
the famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci and the beautiful
STAINED GLASS WINDOW add to the artistic grandeur of the
place. The paintings that adorn the ceiling depict scenes from
the LIFE OF CHRIST.

St.Francis church cochin

St.francis church originally built in 1503

is the oldest european church in india and
has great historical significance.
Vasco da gama landed
in calicut in 1498.
he was followed by pedro cabral
and afonso de albuquerque.
They built a fort at kochi
within which they built a
church with a wooden structure.
The neighbourhood is now known as fort kochi.
In 1506 the portuguese viceroy was allowed
by the raja of cochin to reconstruct wooden buildings in stone and masonry.

 The franciscans retained control over the churches till the dutch
captured kochi in 1663.
while the portuguese were roman catholics
the dutch were protestants.
Hence they demolished all the churches besides this one.
They reconditioned it and converted it into a government church.
In 1804 the dutch voluntarily handed over the church
to anglican communion.
The anglicans changed the name
of the patron saint to st.francis.
The church was declared
as a proteceted monument in 1923.

Vasco da Gama
The Portuguese explorer,Vasco da Gama, died in Kochi in 1524
when he was on his third visit to India.
His body was originally buried in this church, but after fourteen years
his remains were removed to Lisbon.
The gravestone of Vasco da Gama can still be seen here. It is on the
ground at the southern side.
The gravestones of other Portuguese are on the northern sidewall
and the Dutch on the southern wall.
A cenotaph in memory of the residents of Kochi who fell in the world
war one was erected in 1920.

the church has great historical

significance
as a mute witness
to the European colonial
struggle in the subcontinent.

Interior view
Original grave of vasco da gama

ST. GEORGES
CATHEDRAL,karinachira
A prime tourist attraction of Kerala, St.
Georges Cathedral Karingachira has elegantly
decorated interiors and exteriors.
Following several renovations and
modifications, the qdush-qudshin of the church
was constructed over the side altars in 1949,
dedicated to Holy Virgin Mary and John the
Baptist and was consecrated.
The church was named after ST
GEORGE,the patron of the
edappally church.

Famous for thamukku nercha

The statue of St.George

placed prominently for
worship at this church
shows the Saint mounted
on his horseback with his
spear piercing the ugly
head of the monstrous
serpent lying under the
hooves of his horse.

ST. GOERGES CATHEDRAL, EDAPPALLY