Tranquebar
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Tharangambadi தரங்கம்பாடி Porayar; Tranquebar |
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| Town | |
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 Tharangambadi
Tharangambadi
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| Coordinates: 11°1′45″N 79°50′58″E / 11.02917°N 79.84944°ECoordinates: 11°1′45″N 79°50′58″E / 11.02917°N 79.84944°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Nagapattinam |
| Government | |
| • Type | Tamilnadu |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 23,191 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | TN 82-Z |
| Website | www.nagapattinam.tn.nic.in |
Tharangambadi, formerly Tranquebar, is a town in the Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Tharangambadi is the headquarters of Tharangambadi taluk while its name means "place of the singing waves". It was a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845, and in Danish it is still known as Trankebar.
The place dates back to 14th century. Masilamani nathar (Shiva) temple was built in 1306, in a land given by Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. As of now, this temple is the oldest monument. Until 1620, when the Danes came, the place was under Thanjavur Nayak kingdom. Danish admiral Ove Gjedde felt the place would be a potential trading centre, made a deal with Raghunatha Nayak and built a fort, which is known as Fort Dansborg. Nevertheless, a jesuit Catholic church was already in place before that, catering for the Indo-Portuguese community. The Catholic church was probably demolished to build the fort. This fort was the residence and headquarters of the governor and other officials for about 150 years. It is now a museum hosting a collection of artefacts from the colonial era.
Among the first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. Ziegenbalg translated the Old and New Testaments into Tamil, imported a printing press, and printed the New Testament in Tamil in 1714.
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