Cochin: Cochin Impartant Places|Impartant Places in Cochin|Hakur House|Jesish Synagogue|The Cochin Club|Koder Hose|Fort Immanue|Vasco House|Dutch Cemetery|Bastion Bunglow|Marine Drive

Formerly known as the English Club, this club stretches majestically between the Fort Cochin Commandant's house and the ancient Governor's residence. The club with its high roofs and arch styled windows is housed in a beautifully landscaped park and has an impressive library and a collection of sporting trophies. In the early19th century when the club was established by the British, admission was restricted to them and men only. Today its rules are more liberal and the membership of 250 includes women as well.

Bastion Bungalow is an architectural splendor, which was built in 1667 in the Indo - European style. It was constructed on what has been considered the Dutch Stromberg Bastion. This building blends beautifully into the circular structure of the bastion. It has a tiled roof and a typical first floor verandah in wood along its front portion. Noticeable mainly because of its Dutch style architecture and built into the ramparts of a massive fortification wall, it immediately arouses the curiosity of the passer-by. A name plaque on one side of the wall announces that it is the Sub-Collector's residence. It had a brush with glamour when it was hired out to a Hollywood film unit, 'Cotton Mary', which is a Merchant-Ivory production. Bastion Bungalow is located at the end of Church Road in Fort Kochi and it has been declared a protected monument by the State Archaeology Department.

Constructed by 1808 by Jewish patriarch Samuel Koder of the Cochin Electric Company, this magnificent building is an example of the hybrid Indo-European style that developed in Cochin. Unique features of the Koder house are verandah seats at the entrance, interior floor tiles set in a chessboard pattern, red coloured brick like facade, a collection of wood carved furniture and a quaint wooden bridge running over Rose Lane onto a separate structure across the street are all unique to this house. This house was occupied by the family of Mr. Satu Koder, regarded as the patriarch of Cochin's ancient Jewish community. Now this three -storeyed building has been converted into a heritage boutique hotel.
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Koder House, Tower Road, Fort Cochin, Cochin-682 001
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One of the many historical landmarks of Fort Kochi, Thakur House was earlier known as Kunal or Hill Bungalow. It was built on the site of the sea facing Gelderland Bastion, (one of the seven bastions of the old Dutch fort) in the late 1700s. With graceful lines reflecting the leisurely lifestyle of the colonial era, it exudes a quiet grandeur. Nestled amidst neatly manicured lawns, Thakur House is isolated from the noise and bustle of the nearby Chinese Fishing Nets and Fort Kochi bus stop. Thakur House sports several trademarks of Dutch architecture, with its wooden floors, spacious rooms and large bay windows. Sparkling crystal and earthen pottery adorn tables and shelves, and ancient glass lamps hang from the rafters. It is an art-lover's paradise, for several paintings, decorates the walls of the rooms. But, the most beautiful scenery of all lies right outside the window - the Arabian Sea stretching away to the horizon. There have been instances when it served maritime operations and military defense purposes against invaders. Hence the secret tunnels that lie beneath the house. Today, the Bungalow belongs to Ram Bahadur Thakur and Company, the renowned tea-trading firm.

The fort built in 1503 was symbolic of the strategic alliance between the Maharaja of Cochin and the Ruler of Portugal. By 1806, the Dutch, and later the British, had destroyed most of the fort walls and its bastions. The remains of this bastion of the Portuguese in Cochin can bee seen along the beach.

Founded in 1862, this elegant colonial mansion was the office of the coffee merchants, the Pierce Leslie and Company. The structure is a blend of Portuguese, Dutch and the native building style. The mansion has arched doorways, wood panels on the roof of the ground floor, carved doors, sprawling rooms and waterfront verandahs.

The Dutch Cemetery is a mute, yet sublimely eloquent, testimony to the period of once thriving European community at Fort Cochin. The cemetery which is mostly in ruins was consecrated in 1724. It is now managed by the Church of South India.

Built in the sixteenth century, Vasco House is believed to have been the residence of

Vasco Da Gama, the first European to reach the Kerala shores. It is one of the oldest Portuguese residences in Fort Cochin. The straight lines of the balcony-cum-verandah with a series of typical European glass-paned windows are characteristics of the European era in Cochin.