Renovated houses, yet another tourism attraction at Tranquebar

A row of houses with heritage value at Tranquebar in Nagaptttinam district.

NAGAPATTINAM: A row of old houses on Goldsmith Street in Tranquebar has been attracting curious tourists who visit the Danish Fort here.

Apart from the renovation of the Danish Fort, the State Archaeological Department has also been taking steps for the renovation of Governor’s Bungalow.

Tourists also make it a point to visit a row of houses on Goldsmith Street — about 200 metres off the Fort — which were renovated at the post-tsunami period about eight years ago.

These houses, originally a private property, bore the brunt of tsunami. During the post-tsunami period, the Danish Bestseller Foundation, implemented various projects with a view to helping the affected villagers through social and educational projects. For executing these activities, they also purchased these damaged houses from the property owners. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage chipped in, restoring original structure to these houses.

The houses have ‘thinnai’, ‘muttham’ and ‘taazhwaram’ providing adequate light and ventilation all around. These houses have typical tiled roofs with the use of a large quantity of furniture.

“Original building materials were used during the course of renovation,” said A.K. Das of INTACH Pondicherry, explaining the efforts taken for restoring the original grandeur and beauty of the houses.

Tranquebar is closely associated with Danish civilisation but the houses had a mix of both Danish and local architectural style. “We ensured the original style and design” he said. Since the houses are located at close quarters to shore, the original construction did not have iron rods.