ASI restores Danish Cemetery, stumbles upon new history and more graves in West Bengal
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In Serampore, there are just a few remnants of a Danish settlement, a tavern, a church and a little-known cemetery courting to as early as 1770.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stumbled upon some attention-grabbing bits of history. It has discovered more graves throughout a latest restoration of the Danish cemetery in West Bengal’s Serampore city, about 30 km upstream from Kolkata.
Along the bend of the river Hooghly in Serampore, there are just a few remnants of a Danish settlement, a tavern, a church and a little-known cemetery courting to as early as 1770.
“A total of 52 burial places or cemeteries were known before we took up the restoration. But after a year-long work, carefully working for conservation of the cemetery, there are 61 graves now,” Shubha Majumder, Superintending Archaeologist of ASI’s Kolkata Circle, mentioned. Experts level out that the centrally protected monument is the one Danish cemetery in West Bengal and even perhaps throughout the nation.
The archaeologists mentioned that the cemetery was a possible treasure trove of details about the Danish settlement in Serampore which is more than 200 years outdated. The earliest of those graves date again to 1787 CE. The tomb of Colonel Krefting, the Danish Chief and Director, who died in 1828 CE, is right here.
“The Danish Governor, Hohlenburg, after his death in c.1833, was interred in this cemetery. The famous author of the Lepcha language dictionary, General Mainswaring, was also buried here. At least five graves have a tomb stones with epitaph, four in English and one in Danish,” Mr. Majumder mentioned.
Out of those 61 graves, epitaph of solely 4 (Cemetery of Jacob Krefting, Cemetery of Mrs. Emily Christadoss, Cemetery of Lt. Colonel Ole (Olave) Bie, Cemetery of Casper Top (in Danish) stay legible after virtually 200 years.
The restoration of the centrally protected monument began in 2020 after some elements of the cemetery suffered injury resulting from falling bushes throughout cyclone Amphan. Dr. Majumder mentioned that in contrast to the Dutch and French cemeteries, the Danish cemetery is much less ornate, and the peak of the tombs is much less in comparison with different European cemeteries in and round Kolkata
Danes acquired land in Serampore from the Nawab of Bengal in the mid-18th century. Among the Danish constructions like St. Olav’s Church, regionally generally known as the Danish Church, was constructed between 1800 and 1826. Serampore on the banks of Hooghly served as a colony of Denmark from 1750 to 1845. Another outstanding Danish construction, Danish Tavern, situated on the riverfront, has been lately restored.
In the cemetery, one can discover the tomb of LT. Colonel Ole (Olve) Bie, Governor of Fredereicknagore , who in line with some specialists constructed the St. Olav’s Church.
“Born at Trondhjem Norway in February 1733. Died at Serampur 18th May 1805. Colonel Bie was a disciple of Swartz of Tranquebar. He received and sheltered the Baptist Missionaries in 1799 and built the church here,” the epitaph on one of many tombs reads.
The cemetery is situated just a few hundred metres from the Danish Tavern that has lately change into an vital vacationer vacation spot.
“The reason we took to renovate the cemetery is that it is probably the most important symbol of the Danish settlement in Serampore. It can not only serve as an important tourist destination but also calls for more studies and research on the structural aspects and the cultural connections,” Mr. Majumder mentioned.
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