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Fort Kochi
Vis M, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Fort Kochi

Indo-Portuguese Museum

Church treasures laid out across five sections at the Bishop’s House.

All 1 photographs

The Indo-Portuguese Museum sits in the grounds of the Bishop’s House in Fort Kochi, and its church treasures fill five sections. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 9am to 6pm. It shuts on Sundays and Mondays.

The five sections are Altar, Treasure, Procession, Civil Life and Cathedral. The pieces were gathered from churches across Kochi. Among them is a carved teak altar. A processional cross of silver and wood is there too, and so are vestments and silverware. Many of the sculptures and metal objects were contributed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which also helped select the works and design the layout.

The museum was set up to protect and show the Portuguese influence on Fort Kochi, through the efforts of Dr Joseph Kureethara, the late Bishop of Kochi. Its processional cross dates from the 17th century and came from Santa Cruz Cathedral. The basement keeps remnants of Fort Immanuel, and the collection also includes an Indo-Portuguese monstrance.

What the cats hear

Worth knowing

  • The floor can be wet in the old fort remains below the museum.

What visitors liked

  • A knowledgeable guide is on site.
  • Relics and artifacts give a good sense of Portuguese-era history.
  • Quiet, well-ventilated and relaxing on weekdays.

Did you know

  1. Remnants of Fort Immanuel are kept in the basement of the museum.

  2. Many of the sculptures and precious-metal objects on show were contributed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

  3. Its processional cross, made of silver and wood, dates from the 17th century and came from Santa Cruz Cathedral in Fort Kochi.

  4. The museum has five sections: Altar, Treasure, Procession, Civil Life and Cathedral.

  5. The museum was set up through the efforts of Dr Joseph Kureethara, the late Bishop of Kochi, to protect and show Portuguese heritage.

Readings

1
  1. When Fort Kochi was a merry-go-round of colonial powers, Bastion Bungalow’s History

Drawn from OpenStreetMap, by its contributors.

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