Did you know
When the Protestant Dutch captured Cochin from the Roman Catholic Portuguese in 1663, they demolished almost every grand Catholic church in the region but spared the Cathedral of Santa Cruz. They used it as a warehouse for sugar from Batavia (Jakarta), cinnamon from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and iron, and turned its high tower into a military flagstaff. Dutch records also say that on weekdays, during special emergencies, it was used as a slave godown to hold enslaved people who had been captured and sold.
Church · Fort Kochi
Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, Fort Cochin
A granite pillar from 1505 stands at its southeastern corner.
Free · 190 m from Princess Street
Read the full story The Painter Who Died Four Days Before His Church Opened: Santa Cruz Basilica, Fort Kochi
More about Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, Fort Cochin
2- Did you knowWhen the Dutch took Kochi in 1663 they pulled down almost every Catholic church in the area. They spared St. Francis because they wanted it to pray in — and spared Santa Cruz because they wanted somewhere to keep weapons.
- Did you knowColonial Cochin had a large permanent gallows beside the Santa Cruz Cathedral warehouse near the river. About a mile away, a low island in the backwater called Gallows' Island served as the site for military executions and later as a burial ground for paupers.