FORT ST ANGELO, KANNUR
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| FORT ST ANGELO,A GHOSTLY REMINDER LEFT BEHIND BY THE RULERS OF THREE WORLD EMPIRES AT KANNUR |
Fort St Angelo was one of the most important seashore forts
of kerala.It is situated by the side of Mapila Bay on a cliff protruding into
the Arabian Sea about 3kms from the town of Kannur (Cannannore).This fort is one
of the earliest portugese establishments on the malabar coast.For establishing
commercial relations with the portugese the king of Koluthunaadu offered a
suite to construct a factory at Kannur (Cannanore).The portugese navigator and
explorer Vasco Da Gama first came to malabar coast in 1498 AD and he strengthened
more cordial relation with the Kolathiri Raja.The portugese navigator Pedro
Alvares Cabral in 1500 AD made adjacent installations in the factory (wharehouse).Subsequently
in 1501 AD Joao D Nova established a small factory in Kannur(Cannanore) and he
returned back to Portugal.
During the second visit of Vasco Da Gama in 1502 AD ,he
built a palisade with the permission of Kolathiri Raja and 200 portugese
soldiers were stationed at the factory.In 1505 AD ,Dom Francisco D Almeira the
first portugese viceroy to India obtained permission from the Kolathiri Raja to
construct a fort and it was completed in 1507 AD .The fort was named as St
Angelo.Later on it became an important military station for the purpose of
defense of the west coast.As part of colonal imperialism Dutch was also competent
to establish their supremacy on trade in peninsular India particularly in
Kerala along with other european powers like Portugese , British And The
French.In 1663 the Dutch captured St Angelo Fort from the Portugese and made
modifications of the fort.Then it was sold to the Alirajas of Kannur(Cannanore)in
1772 AD .Later the British seized the fort in 1790 AD and enlarged to become
the most important military station in the Malabar Coast.
The Fort St Angelo is
a composite mixture of the Portugese ,Dutch And The British architecture(
colonial architecture) right from the early 16th century AD .It is massively
built of laterite roughly triangular on plan with high ramparts on a rocky
promontory surrounded by sea on all other sides while a dry moat runs from the
land side of the fortress on one side.During the period of Portugese, in order
to isolate the fort from the mainland ,a water moat runnnng east west
connecting the Arabian Sea to the Mapila Bay was constructed .Most of the
buildings inside the premises were chapels,house of mercy,prison,offices and
other amenities built by the Portugese.Dutch people built the horse stables and
ammunition house inside the fort.
The main gate is towards the land and is
protected by bastions .The epitaph of Susanna Weyerman ,first wife of Dutch governor
Godfried Weyerman died on 28th march 1745 at the age of 17ys 7months and 16
days recalls the position of Dutch on the fort .The canon that was used by the Portugese
and the British were kept inside the fort.Presently the canons are fixed to the
merlons and bastions of the fort walls pointing towards the sea
Presently ,the fort is a protected monument which has been declared to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments And
Archeological Sites And Remains Act 1958 .Areas around the fort upto 100 metres
of protected limit and further beyond it for 200 metres have been declared to
be as prohibited areas respectively for
the purpose of mining operations and construction works.
The fort was inaugurated under the District Tourism
Promotion Council Kannur by Mr Oommen Chandy,Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala
and presided over by Shri AP Anil Kumar ,Honorable Minister for welfare of
scheduled caste,backward classes and tourism and Smt P K Sreemati Teacher MP and
other dignitaries on 29th Feb 2016.
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| THE MAIN ENTRANCE |
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| WALKING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE OF THE FORT ST ANGELO........ |
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| STILL WALKING........ |
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| ENTRANCE TO FORT ST ANGELO |
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| INSIDE THE FORT |
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| WALKWAY ADJACENT TO THE SEATS FOR LIGHT AND SOUND SHOWS |
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| OLD AMMUNITION HOUSE |
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| WALKING UNDER THE DAMP AND SHADY TREES |
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| OLD CHAPEL TURNED OFFICE BUILDING INSIDE THE FORT |
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| GRASSY KNOLL ...GROUPS OF VISITING PEOPLE SIT ON IT AND SPENT THEIR LEISURE |
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| PRISON AND BARRACKS INSIDE THE FORT |
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| WALK THROUGH THE GRASSY TOP AREA OVERLOOKING THE SEA |
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| ARABIAN SEA VIEW |
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| VIEW OF THE BARRACKS FROM THE TOP |
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| ARABIAN SEA |
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| MAPILA BAY AREA |
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| CLIMB DOWN TOWARDS THE EXIT |
HOW TO REACH FORT ST ANGELO-
IT IS NEAR KANNUR CANTONEMENT AREA.YOU NEED TO TAKE SPECIAL PERMISSION TO VISIT THE PLACE AS YOU ARE ENTERING RESTRICTED AREA. YOU CAN GET THE PASS AT THE ENTRANCE ITSELF.
FORT ST ANGELO IS 3KM FROM KANNUR TOWN,ACCESSIBLE BY ALL VEHICLES.IF COMING BY BUS ,U NEED TO GET DOWN AT TOWN STAND AND HAIL AN AUTO. ITS MINIMUM CHARGE TILL THE FORT.
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