Museum · Mattancherry
Archaeological Site Museum, Mattancherry Palace
Actually built by the Portuguese around 1550, later renovated by the Dutch.
Mattancherry Palace, called the Dutch Palace, is a museum on Palace Road in Mattancherry. Its courtyard temple has only one wall between it and the Paradesi Synagogue, so the two sit almost side by side. It opens 10am to 5pm every day except Friday, when it is shut. A stairlift and braille signs help at the entrance.
The murals are the reason to come. They show scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, along with other Puranic legends. The paint is tempera with natural dyes, and the work dates from the 17th to 19th centuries. In the royal bedchamber, Hanuman is rescuing Sita from Lanka. A guide brings the stories alive, though the English panels cover the main points.
The Portuguese had the palace built and presented it to Raja Veera Kerala Varma of Cochin. Sources give the year as 1545 or 1555. The gift was made to appease the Raja after the Portuguese plundered a temple nearby. The Dutch took over Mattancherry in 1663 and rebuilt the palace, which is where the name Dutch Palace comes from. The government declared it a protected monument in 1951, and it is still a museum today.
Did you know
The synagogue and the Hindu temple of Mattancherry Palace share a wall.
The palace floor looks like black marble. It’s actually lime, egg whites, plant juices and burnt coconut shells.
Mattancherry Palace, commonly called the Dutch Palace, is actually Portuguese: it was constructed around 1550 and presented as a gift to the Rajah of Cochin. It became associated with the Dutch only after they renovated and altered it more than a century later.
The palace was declared a central government protected monument in 1951.
Only one wall separates the palace temple from the Paradesi Synagogue.
The palace murals depict stories from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Puranic legends, and date from the 17th to 19th centuries.
The Dutch rebuilt the palace under their rule in the 1660s, which is why it is also called the Dutch Palace.
The Portuguese had the palace built around 1555, and the date is also given as 1545 in other sources.
The Portuguese built the palace and gave it to the king of Cochin to appease him after they plundered a temple nearby.
Guides
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Drawn from OpenStreetMap, by its contributors.
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