Historical, Anthropological and Heritage tourist spot in hooghly
1. Hanseswari Temple :-
Hanseswari temple is located at Bansberia, a small municipal town. Its construction was started by Raja Nrisingha Dev and was completed by his wife Shankari, in 1814.The temple is unique as it represents the Yoga view of the human body and has five storeys representing the five nadis of the human body, namely Era, Pingala, Brojakha, Susumna and Chitrini.The workmanship is unique. The temple has thirteen towers in all which raise to a height of 21 metres and assume the shape of lotus buds. The deity worshipped is Devi Hanseswari, a form of Kali. The idol is built from Neemwood. Presently the temple and its surroundings are looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.
2. Dargah of Zafar Khan Ghazi :-
One of the prime attractions of Tribeni is thedargah of Zafar Khan Ghazi, a Turk warrior who started a Sufi lineage.Located on a small mound overlooking the Hooghly river, it is housed inside a walled complex which also contains a mosque and several other tombs. It remains an active religious site. The mosque is one of the oldest in West Bengal and also happens to be one of the oldest Islamic structure in the whole of undivided Bengal. The dargah was constructed in 1315 and is located in the eastern end of the walled complex. It has two chambers and the roof has long collapsed. The western chamber contains the grave of Zafar Khan along with the graves of his two sons Ain Khan Ghazi and Ghain Khan Ghazi.
3. Hooghly Imambara :-
Hooghly Imambara, an architectural splendour of the 19th century, is a holy shrine not only to the people of Bengal but also to the entire Muslim community of India. The history of the construction is associated with a rich and philanthropic son of the soil, Haji Mohammad Mohsin, whose name is also associated with the spreading of modern education in the district. The present Imambara does not have any trace of the older one. It was constructed just upon the debris of older one in 1861 by the Trust fund of Haji Mohammad Mohsin, one of the noblest sons of Bengal. It was constructed for the observance of the Muharram and other religious functions.There is a massive Clock Tower, a concrete sundial and a Turkish bath or Hammam exquisitely decorated with colourful glass.
4. Bandel Church or Basilica of the Holy Rosary :-
Bandel, now a small municipal town, was under Portuguese rule from the end of 16th to the middle of 17th century. Besides their many other activities, in 1599, a church was constructed by the Portuguese on the banks of Hooghly, making it the oldest church of West Bengal. In 1632, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan attacked the Portuguese settlement which also had a small fort.The Portuguese were defeated and their fort and church were reduced to ruins. The present church and monastery are said to be built in 1660 by Gomez de Soto having the keystone of the old church bearing the date 1599. In front of the church, stands a ship‟s mast which was presented by the captain of a vessel which had encountered a storm in Bay of Bengal and was believed to have been saved by the grace of Virgin Mary. The church has three altars, a small organ &several tomb stones. It is endowed with a sacred shrine at the balcony devoted to Our Lady of Happy Voyage.
5. Clock Tower, Chinsurah :-
The former Dutch colony (1615–1825) was once considered the most beautiful town of Bengal. Although known for its Dutch heritage, the prime attraction of Chinsurah or Chuchura is the British-built clock tower. Located at a crossing and at the very centre of the town, the clock tower was constructed in 1914 in honour of King Edward VII.
6. Taraknath Temple of Tarakeshwar :-
The temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, worshiped as Taraknath, is a major pilgrimage spot in the town of Tarakeswar. Built in 1729, the temple is an at-chala(eight-roofed) structure with a ‘natmandir’ in front. Close by are the shrines of Kali and Lakshmi Narayan. Dudhpukur, a tank to the north of the Shiva temple is believed to fulfil the prayers of those taking a dip in it. Tarakeshwarnath represents a fierce (ugra) form of Lord Shiva who drank venom during the mythical samudra-manthan. As per local legends, the temple was built by Raja Bharamalla Rao around a swayambhu (selfmanifested) Shiva Linga in 1729 AD. Pilgrims visit the temple throughout the year, especially on Mondays. But thousands throng on the occasions of ‘Shivaratri’ and ‘Gajan’.The former takes place in Phalgun (Feb-March),while .the latter lasts for five days ending on the last day of Chaitra (mid-April). The month of Sravana (mid-July to mid-August) is auspicious when celebrations are held in each Monday.
7. Danish Governor’s House, Serampore :
It was the administrative centre during Danish rule at the town. Serampore saw the Danes building a trading hub there in 1755 after being granted permission of trading rights by Nawab of Bengal Ali Vardi Khan. The Danish trading station, named Frederiksnagore after King Frederik V of Denmark, first consisted of a warehouse and mud houses. The Danish Governor‟s House was first mudbuilt which later collapsed and was reconstructed in 1771 by the Danish Governor for residential and administrative purposes. It has housed various
administrative departments before and after independence and at present, following renovation has a museum and a state government office running from there.
8. Hooghly Mohsin College :-
Situated in a quiet corner of Chinsurah, the headquarters of Burdwan Division and Hooghly District, Hooghly Mohsin College is one of the
premier academic institutions of India, promoting the cause of higher education for nearly two centuiries. Following a blueprint prepared by
Macaulay and with the help of a trust fund of the legendary philanthropist Haji Mohammed Mohsin, the college started its journey on the 1st day of August, 1836 in Perron‟s house, a magnificent piece of architecture overlooking the river Hooghly. For the first one hundred years of its existence, the college was known as New Hooghly College. On the occasion of its centenary celebration, the college was renamed as Hooghly Mohsin College. This glorious house of learning nurtured some of the doyens of the nineteenth century Indian Renaissance. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the composer of „Bande Mataram‟ and other eminent writers of Bengal like Dwijendralal Roy, Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rangalal Bandyopadhyay were distinguished students of this college. BiplabacharyaJyotish Chandra Ghosh, Kanailal Datta, jurist Syed Amir Ali, scientist Dr.Upendranath Brahmachari, singers Shyamal Mitra were among the alumni.
9. Serampore College :
The Serampore Mission of the Baptist Missionary Society was established on 10th January 1800. The missionary trio of William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward laid great emphasis on the training of Christian leaders for the church in Asia, but also desired to have the college opening its doors to all students irrespective of their caste, colour and creed. Besides educational enterprises the founders did the pioneering work of publishing periodicals such as the Dig Darshan, the Samachar Darpan and the Friend of lndia, the ancestor of the present Statesman. William Carey published grammatical and lexicographical works in Sanskrit and Bengali and is considered among the founders of modern Bengali prose. They founded a printing house where many of the Indian and other Asian languages were printed for the first time.
10. Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Residence :-
It is said that “Vande Mataram”, India‟s national song, was composed by Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at Joraghat in Chinsurah. The house concerned is situated on the bank of the river Hooghly. Chinsurah is on the opposite bank of the town of Naihati where the novelist was born and brought up. He lived in this house for five years while working as a deputy collector in the district. He was also the first Sub-divisional Officer of Arambagh and an alumnus of the Hooghly Collegiate School. According to Bankim‟s biography by Shrish Chandra Chattopadhyay, the former in a July 1880 letter had written that it was while residing at this Chinsurah home that he wrote the novel Ananda Math, of which the whole five-stanza song became part. Ananda Math was published as a book in 1882, a year after Bankim left the Chinsurah house
11. Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist :-
St. John the Baptist Church of Chinsura church, built in 1695–1697, is the second oldest Christian church in Bengal, and the oldest Armenian church in India. Each year on 13th –14thJanuary, the church celebrates the feast of John the BaptistArmenians settled in Chinsura in 1645, after the Dutch, who formed their colony in 1625.
12. Radha Govinda Mandir, Antpur :-
Antpur, a village located in Jangipara Block, Serampore Subdivision and Hooghly district, houses one of West Bengal’s as well as India’s finest pieces of terracotta temple architecture – the Radha Govinda Temple. The 100 feet high temple was constructed in 1786 (1708 Shakabda) by Krishna Ram Mitra, the Diwan of Bardhaman Raj. The temple which is more than 200 years old, is about 100-ft high and is built in the style of Bengal architecture school, the aatchalastyle. The front façade is adorned with terracotta tiles depicting Hindu mythological scenes, Hindu gods & goddesses like Radha, Krishna & Durga, scenes from Indian epics Ramayana & Mahabharata and social life in erstwhile Bengal. There are panels showing European women and soldiers as well. The terracotta works are excellent. Its Chandi Mandap and Dol Mancha have beautifully crafted wood carvings and terracotta. It houses a black stone idol of Lord Krishna
13. The Underground House (Patal-Bari) :-
Situated at Chandannagar, Patal-Bari is a beautiful example of the advancement in the knowledge of architecture. The lowest floor of the building remains submerged in the Ganga, hence the name. Luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar stayed in the building.
14. Nandadulal Temple :-
Nandadulal temple is situated in Durga Charan Rakshit Road, Chandannagar. It was built in1740 by Indranarayan Roychoudhury. It presents an excellent example of ancient Indian sculptures and was built in do-chala style.
| Place | Hooghly |
- Official Tourist Page of Hooghly Govt. – https://hooghly.nic.in/tourist-places/
