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    Heritage Trail Map Pondicherry

    Uploaded by

    Prajitha Jinachandran T K
    The document provides information on the architectural styles found in the old town of Pondicherry, India. It describes the distinct French and Tamil quarters, noting that many buildings show influences of both styles. The French quarter contains classical European-style buildings laid out in a grid, while the Tamil quarter has vernacular south Indian-style homes arranged along east-west streets. Both quarters exhibit blending of the differing architectural traditions, creating Pondicherry's unique built environment.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Heritage Trail Map Pondicherry

    Uploaded by

    Prajitha Jinachandran T K
    374 views2 pages
    The document provides information on the architectural styles found in the old town of Pondicherry, India. It describes the distinct French and Tamil quarters, noting that many buildings show influences of both styles. The French quarter contains classical European-style buildings laid out in a grid, while the Tamil quarter has vernacular south Indian-style homes arranged along east-west streets. Both quarters exhibit blending of the differing architectural traditions, creating Pondicherry's unique built environment.

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    Heritage Trail Map Pondicherry

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    The document provides information on the architectural styles found in the old town of Pondicherry, India. It describes the distinct French and Tamil quarters, noting that many buildings show influences of both styles. The French quarter contains classical European-style buildings laid out in a grid, while the Tamil quarter has vernacular south Indian-style homes arranged along east-west streets. Both quarters exhibit blending of the differing architectural traditions, creating Pondicherry's unique built environment.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    374 views2 pages

    Heritage Trail Map Pondicherry

    Uploaded by

    Prajitha Jinachandran T K
    The document provides information on the architectural styles found in the old town of Pondicherry, India. It describes the distinct French and Tamil quarters, noting that many buildings show influences of both styles. The French quarter contains classical European-style buildings laid out in a grid, while the Tamil quarter has vernacular south Indian-style homes arranged along east-west streets. Both quarters exhibit blending of the differing architectural traditions, creating Pondicherry's unique built environment.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    (under nayakship of Gingee)

    Sultanate of Bijapur

    1614 - 1638

    EFFEO/FL

    houses have several courtyards.


    Within the intimate fabric of the
    Tamil town an interesting
    morphology of built-form is
    observed, ranging from the
    simple country tiled single storied
    houses of the old Hindu quarters,
    to the two-storied houses with
    considerable colonial influence of
    the later Hindu and Christian
    quarters, to the more elaborately
    ornamented and colourful houses
    of the Muslim quarters.
    On the whole, a synthesis of two
    varying styles is evident in many
    buildings. Especially in
    the case of some twostoried Tamil buildings,
    the ground floor is
    usually Tamil type with
    thinnai, thalvaram,
    pillared courtyard and
    carved wooden doors,
    while the first floor
    displays French
    influence through
    fluted pilasters,
    columns with capitals,
    arched windows,
    plaster decorations
    and end-ornament elements.

    1523
    1618
    1624
    1674-1693
    1693-1700
    1700-1761
    1761-1765
    1765-1778
    1778-1783
    1783-1793
    1793-1815
    1815-1954

    Rue de la Marine

    It is the cross-influence of building patterns in the


    Tamil and French quarters that gives the old town
    its distinct architectural vocabulary.
    At present, the guided walks are offered by prior
    appointment.
    You can also discover the town on your own with
    the help of this Heritage Trail map.

    For guided tours, please contact:


    Tourist Information Centre
    (Pondicherry Tourism Development Corporation)
    40 Goubert Avenue, Pondicherry - 605 001
    Tel : 2339497 / 2334575

    INTACH Heritage Center*


    (Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage)
    62 Rue Aurobindo, Pondicherry - 605 001
    Tel : 2225991 / 2227324
    *Visit Architectural Heritage Exhibition

    Toshak Patel

    Rue Cazy

    Portuguese set up a factory


    Dutch buy textiles
    Danes set up a factory
    First French settlement
    Dutch rule
    French rule
    British rule
    French rule
    British rule
    French rule
    British rule
    French rule

    Published by INTACH, Pondicherry


    December 2007

    Rue Franois Martin

    Heritage Walks

    INTACH

    History of Pondicherry

    INTACH

    Colonial History of Pondicherry

    In 1521 the Portuguese were the first Europeans to return to trade in


    textiles. In the 17th century the Dutch and the Danes followed suit.
    The flourishing trade attracted the French to establish a settlement
    in 1674. Under Governors such as Franois Martin and Dupleix, it
    grew into a prominent fortified town and an important port of call.

    INTACH

    Heritage Trail

    - 900
    - 1279
    - 1370
    - 1614

    Pondicherry Museum

    INTACH

    325
    900
    1279
    1370

    In 1746 the British lost Fort St. George in Madras to Dupleix, and
    retaliated by capturing Pondicherry in 1761 and razing the town to
    the ground, sparing only a few structures. However the Treaty of
    Paris returned Pondicherry to the French. The removal of
    fortifications led to flattened ramparts, which form the boulevards of
    Pondicherry today. A storm water canal separated the French and
    Tamil quarters, and streets were laid in the form of a grid. By 1768
    much of the old town of Pondicherry, as we know it today, had been
    laid out and rebuilt on its former foundations.

    INTACH

    Pallava Dynasty
    Chola Dynasty
    Pandya Dynasty
    Vijayanagar Empire

    "Pondicherry" is the French


    interpretation of the original
    name "Puducheri" meaning
    'new settlement'.
    Excavations at Arikamedu,
    about 7 kms to the south of
    the town, show that the
    Romans came here to trade
    in the 1st century AD. The
    trade included dyed textiles,
    pottery and semi-precious
    stones. The findings are now
    displayed in the Pondicherry Museum.

    Vysial Street

    Rue Cazy

    which form the majority, and are


    simple and varied, and public,
    which are set amidst large plots
    with fenced enclosures. French
    building models were adapted to
    suit local climatic conditions.
    The street faades are usually
    characterised by continuous wall-

    house is entered through a finely


    carved wooden door. Once
    inside, the mutram (colonnaded
    courtyard) becomes the central
    family space around which the
    various other spaces are
    functionally arranged. Some

    INTACH

    Rue Law de Lauriston

    to-wall construction with high


    garden walls and elaborate
    gateways. The faades are
    divided into smaller panels by the
    use of vertical pilasters and
    horizontal cornices, and feature
    flat or segmental arched windows
    with bands and louvered wooden
    shutters. Wooden balconies over
    iron brackets and continuous
    parapets with simple ornamental
    features are common.
    Most French houses were built on
    similar ground plans with few
    variations and with full or partial
    street frontage. The main faades
    have colonnaded porticoes to
    provide better protection from sun
    and rain, and also act as a
    transition space to the garden
    court. A major change from the
    original French model is the use
    of flat terraced roofs instead of
    the pitched roofs of the Parisian
    villas.
    The walled gardens form private
    interior courts on to which the rest
    of the building spaces open. The
    interiors of the houses are usually
    more ornate than the exterior.
    High ceilings, tall arched doors
    and windows mark the rooms,
    and in the case of two storied
    buildings, vaulted staircases wind
    up. Often the inclined window
    shades were made of light
    materials like wood or metal.

    Originally the native Tamil town


    developed around the nucleus of
    a group of temples in the northern
    section, and the streets were laid
    along the east-west axis, onto
    which the back-to-back row
    houses opened.
    These streetscapes with
    continuous wall-to-wall
    construction are very
    different in character from
    the French streetscapes.
    Their exterior faades
    mainly feature a thalvaram
    (street veranda with a
    lean-to roof over wooden
    posts) - a social extension
    of the house providing
    shelter for the pedestrians
    - and a thinnai (semipublic veranda space) with
    masonry benches for
    visitors and pilgrims.
    These talking-streets, so called
    because of their intimate scale
    and interactive nature, are typical
    of vernacular Tamil architecture,
    and the entire street stretch is
    homogeneous because of
    connecting elements like lean-toroofs, cornices (horizontals), and
    pilasters and engaged columns
    (verticals) with ornamental
    parapets, which define the
    skyline. All houses are similar, but
    no two houses are exactly the
    same.
    The thinnai marks the sensitive
    transition space after which the

    Pondicherry

    Pre-colonial History

    The old town has a unique charm,


    which captivates the hearts of visitors.
    To experience the spirit of
    Pondicherry it is essential to walk
    through the old town and closely
    observe the nature of its architectural
    traditions. With a view of offering a
    sensitive revelation of the city to
    tourists and the citizens themselves,
    INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art
    & Cultural Heritage) has planned this
    Heritage Walk of Pondicherry. There
    are very few monumental buildings in
    Pondicherry, its architectural
    character is a result of hundreds of
    French and Tamil houses that create

    Rue Dumas

    The French quarter developed


    along the beach and around the
    present Bharathi Park, which is
    surrounded by stately government
    buildings. Residential villas
    extend on either side interspersed
    by institutional structures. In
    general the buildings fall into two
    main categories: residential,

    History of Pondicherry

    Walk two: The Tamil Quarter

    Pondicherry was part of the Pallava, the Chola and Pandya


    empires from the 4th to14th centuries, and thereafter it became
    a part of the Vijayanagar Empire, followed by Islamic rule.

    Walk One: The French Quarter

    Pondicherry has two distinct parts: the


    French and the Tamil. The French quarter
    has structures in the European classical
    style, whereas the buildings in the Tamil
    quarter are in the vernacular style of
    Tamil Nadu. The two styles have
    influenced each other with the result that
    many buildings in both parts of the town
    are a harmonious blend of European
    and Tamil architectural patterns.
    the 'milieu' or 'ensemble'. This quality of
    the streetscapes is today threatened by
    the widespread destruction of traditional
    houses, especially in the Tamil part. If this
    heritage is to be protected then it is
    important to preserve all these houses.

    Walk One: The French Quarter


    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    11
    12
    13
    14
    15
    16
    17
    18
    19
    20
    21

    H6

    C
    Rue Nainiappa

    30
    H7
    Rue

    Caz
    y

    27
    31

    25

    Poulle

    29

    26

    6
    24

    Walk Two: The Tamil Quarter


    22
    23
    24
    25
    26
    27
    28
    29
    30
    31

    28
    23
    22

    16
    11 12

    H4

    H5

    Establishments in Heritage Buildings


    17

    S6

    15

    3
    21

    14

    18

    Tourist Information

    Bharathi Museum
    Calve College
    Sushilabai School
    Iswaran Temple
    Perumal Temple
    Ananda Ranga Pillai Mansion
    VOC School
    Immaculate Conception Cathedral
    Kutpa Mosque
    Subbiah Museum

    20

    10
    4

    Town Hall (Mairie / Hotel de Ville)


    Notre Dame des Anges Church
    Ecole Francaie dExtreme-Orient
    Cluny Embroidery Centre
    Alliance Franaise
    INTACH Heritage Center
    Lyce Franaise
    Art Gallery
    Chamber of Commerce
    UCO Bank
    Assembly
    Cercle de Pondichry
    Ashram Dinning Hall
    Raj Nivas
    Museum
    Manakkula Vinayagar Temple
    Sri Aurobindo Ashram
    French Consulate
    French Institute
    Golconde
    Maison Colombani

    19

    Lighthouse

    R3

    50

    100m

    Hotels
    H1
    Villa Helena
    H2
    Hotel de lOrient
    H3
    Hotel de Pondichry
    H4
    Le Dupleix
    H5
    Hotel du Parc
    H6
    Hotel Ganga
    H7
    Reve Bleu
    Restaurants
    R1
    Rendez vous
    R2
    Satsanga
    R3
    Le Caf
    Shops
    S1
    Via Pondichry
    S2
    Curio
    S3
    Kailash Bookshop
    S4
    Cottonwood
    S5
    Touchwood
    S6
    Fleurs en Flacon
    Streetscapes

    8, Rue de la Marine

    Hotel de lOrient

    3, Rue Surcouf

    Hindu Quarter

    Temple

    Christian Quarter

    Church

    Muslim Quarter

    Mosque

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