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Danish fort escapes tsunami's wrath

Still standing like a rock, the Danish fort, also called Dansborg Fort, at Tranquebar, an ancient port town in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, escaped the tsunami fury on December 26. Although the waves had reached the main road and washed away several coastal hamlets in Tranquebar for about a kilometre, killing about 700 people, the nearly four-century-old fort, which is just 100 metres away from the seashore, was not at all affected, thanks to the huge wall built around it.

    Tranquebar (Tamil Nadu): A Danish fort in Nagapattinam had a miraculous escape on the day the tsunami struck across South and South East Asia, leaving behind a swathe of death and destruction. Situated just a few metres away from the shore, the fort withstood the deadly tsunami though its front side got flooded when the waters gushed ashore. About 700 people were killed in the port town. "Water had come with a great force but the fort and the surrounding areas somehow escaped," said Kuttiyani, a resident. Vadivelu, another resident, said it was due to the huge wall surrounding the fort, which protected it. "The water rose more than 15 feet and entered the fort with a great force but I don't know how it was not amaged at all," said Vadivelu. A Danish Navy officer built the fort in 1620 A.D. after negotiating a treaty with the erstwhile king of the region Vijaya Raghunatha Nayak. The two-storey fort served as the residence of Danish top brass and was the seat of power from where the Danes ruled their territory in India. The monument is declared historically important under the Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1966. The fort, which was handed over to the British in 1845, is a standing monument of Danish architecture.
Jan 16, 2005
                            
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