Mattancherry (;

Cochin Portuguese Creole Cochin Indo-Portuguese, also known as Vypin Indo-Portuguese from its geographic centre, is an Indo-Portuguese creole spoken on the Malabar coast of India, particularly in Fort Cochin, in the state of Kerala. The last person who spoke it as ...

: ''Cochim de Cima'' ), is a historic

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is about 9 km south-west from the city centre. Mattanchery is home to many sites of historical and cultural significance, including the

Paradesi Synagogue The Paradesi Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue () is a synagogue located in Mattancherry Jew Town, a suburb of the city of Kochi, Kerala, in India. It was built in 1568 A.D. by Samuel Castiel, David Belila, and Joseph Levi for the flou ...

- which was the centre of life in the Jewish Quarter. In addition to the

Cochin Jews Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim from ) are one of the oldest groups of History of the Jews in India, Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the King ...

and

Paradesi Jews Paradesi Jews refer to Jewish immigrants to the Indian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal. ''Paradesi'' means ''foreign'' in Malayalam and Tamil language, Tamil. These Sephar ...

, Mattanchery is also home to

Konkanis The Konkani people are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Konkan region of the Indian subcontinent. They speak various dialects of the Konkani language. Following the Konkani language agitation, Konkani became the premier off ...

and

Gujaratis The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They ...

, with the Gujarati street in Mattancherry being a cultural icon for Keralite Gujaratis.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Mattancherry had a population of 10144, with 5035 males and 5109 females. 10.69% of residents were in the 0-6 age group. 1.00% of residents belonged to Scheduled Castes and 0.00% of residents belonged to Scheduled Tribes. The total literacy rate was 85.70%, with males having a literacy rate of 86.80% and females having a literacy rate of 84.62%

Notable landmarks

Many of the landmarks in Mattancherry are listed as

Monuments of National Importance This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India. An Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an "Ancient Monument" as follows: A "Monument of National Importance" is designated by the Archaeological Survey o ...

, and notable landmarks include: *

Chempittapally Chempittapally (; ), also known as Chembitta Palli and as Chembittapally Juma Masjid, is a Sifi Friday mosque in the Mattancherry neighbourhood, in Kochangadi, Kochi, in the Ernakulam district of the state of Kerala, India. Built between 1520 a ...

, a copper-roofed 16th-century mosque, built in the Kerala-Islamic style. * Gujarati Street * Holy Cross Church, Kooanan Cross * Jew Town *

Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue The Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue (; ), also known as the Kadavumbhagam Synagogue, is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Mattancherry, a locality in Kochi, in the Ernakulam district, in the coastal state of Ke ...

Kochi Jain temple The Kochi Jain temple or Dharmanath Jain temple is a Jain temple in the Mattancherry in Kochi, Kerala. History Historically, Jains from Kutch & Saurastra used to come to Cochin, Kozhikode and Alleppey for business. This temple was built i ...

, a

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

Mattancherry Palace The Mattancherry Palace is a palace popularly known as the Dutch Palace, in Mattancherry, Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala which features Kerala murals depicting portraits and exhibits of the Rajas of Kochi. The palace was included in t ...

(The

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Palace) - the former residence of the kings of Kochi. The palace was built in 1555 by Veera Kerala Varma (1537–1565), the King of Cochin, was renovated by the Dutch in 1663 and became known as the 'Dutch Palace'. Today, there are portraits of the kings of Kochi and many unique murals in India. The site also includes the Mattancherry Palace Museum. * Our Lady Of Life Church (''Ingreja de Nossa Senhora do Resgate'') *

- India's oldest functioning synagogue,, the synagogue was built in 1568 by the Paradesi Jewish people of Kochi. It is also known as the Kochi Jewish Synagogue and the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located at what is now known as Jewish Street in Old Kochi. The synagogue was built near the Mattancherry Palace on a site donated by King Rama Varma of Kochi to the Jewish community. There is only one wall between the palace temple and this synagogue. * Thekkumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue

Gallery

File:The Paradesi Synagogue during Covid-19 pandemic.jpg, The Paradesi Synagogue is one of the very few active synagogues in Kerala File:Intl Police museum.jpg, International Tourism Police Museum at Mattancherry File:Traditional Mattancherry Sweets.jpg, Traditional Mattancherry Sweets Gujarathi File:Our Lady of Life's Church in Mattancherry.jpg, The church of Our Lady of Life in Mattancherry, the site of the historical Coonan Cross Oath.

References

External links

* {{Neighbourhoods of Kochi Neighbourhoods in Kochi