Fort Museum in Chennai & World Heritage Monuments Display

Timings: 10 AM to 5 PM; Weekly Holiday: Friday

The British might have left the country, but their memories still remain – In Fort Museum! The Chennai Fort complex is where all the current under-secretary offices of the various departments of the Tamil Nadu Government function from. But this Fort complex has a rather interesting history involving the British, right from the early seventeenth century. This was one of the first permanent bases (after Surat) for the British East India company.

victoria gold medal in fort museum chennaiThe fort complex, which is very close to the present day Chennai Harbor, was given to the East India Company by the local emperors in the early 17th Century and from that time the city and the fort have been under the control of the British (except for a short period in between when it was under the French control). It seems initially the East India company was concentrating more on trading and it had a small force and modest fortification to protect itself.

Old gun models used by the British in Fort museum, ChennaiBut later, they expanded to annexe and control a major portion of India. So, the British have  created a rich legacy of around 300 years and their history (in part) is preserved in Fort Museum, that is housed in the Fort complex in Chennai.

This museum contains a variety of medals, coins, porcelain ware, silver ware, dresses, weapons, mortars, etc. that were used by the British, while in India. It seems, many of them were donated by the English during independence and some of them were acquired from other sources afterwards.

mortars in fort museum, ChennaiThe history of the Fort complex is portrayed exhaustively using pictures, objects as well as writings (posters). There is even a gallery that contains the paintings of some of the famous viceroys, governors and their mistresses, in this museum.

paint gallery at fort museum in chennaiWhen I went to the Fort Museum, there was an additional attraction – The World Heritage Week 2011 was being organized by the Archaeological Society of India. As a part of this celebration, they had put up the photos of all the 936 heritage monuments belonging to 153 countries in one of the halls of this Fort museum. Here are some photos I took from this collection:

Some world heritage monuments in India at the Fort Museum Chennai - World Heritage WeekWorld heritage monuments photos at the fort museum - world heritage week 2011world heritage week - kremlin world heritage monument - fort museum chennaiworld heritage week in fort museum chennai - world heritage monuments photosForget the names of the monuments, I was not even familiar with the country names of a few world heritage monuments presented there! So, if you want to go to some exotic place for the next vacation, you might want to visit this place within the next two days (up to 25th November 2011) to have a look at all the photos and select your destinations!

You can have a look at the UNESCO World Heritage monument list, where they have put up photos/ descriptions of all the monuments, country wise.

Destination Infinity

14 thoughts on “Fort Museum in Chennai & World Heritage Monuments Display

  1. Sandhya

    The hall where the paintings are displayed looks beautiful…like the one we saw in London castle!

    I have visited Sanchi. It looks beautiful here, in the picture!

    So many places are here, in India itself to visit…we are planning to visit one by one slowly!

    1. Rajesh K

      Yes, that was a very neatly made hall. The paintings were quite big and pretty well done. This is the first time I am hearing the name of ‘Sanchi’! Maybe one day I might be able to… Even the great Chola Temples were mentioned as a part of the world heritage monuments… Its true that we have so many monuments in our backyard… But still, the photos of monuments in other countries were stunning.

      Destination Infinity

  2. sujatha sathya

    nice to know the history of the museum

    the mountain railways – my god! incredible!

    i have selected my next vacation place. i want to visit AMALFI COAST. such interesting color & pattern.
    now let me search for some generous, good-hearted, rich, kind sponsor! would you like to volunteer?? :))

    1. Rajesh K

      I can sponsor the entry ticket into Amalfi coast (only if there is nothing like that) 😀

      Destination Infinity

  3. Kirtivasan

    Madraspattinam as was known earlier may have been important for the firework need of the British. Splendid photos and nice presentation.

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah, its with all that fireworks that were manufactured here, they were able to defeat Tippu Sultan.

      Destination Infinity

  4. Rakesh Vanamali

    Oh wonderful! Chennai has some wonderful places to visit, I understand.

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah, I am exploring some of them myself these days… 🙂

      Destination Infinity

  5. Praveen Kumar

    Wow so nice & amazing post, your post have the information that is helpful and very informative. I would like you to keep up the good work. You know how to make your post understandable for most of the people.

    1. Rajesh K

      Thank you…

      Destination Infinity

  6. Shree

    Wow amazing pictures…painting displayed are beautiful

    1. Rajesh K

      I could have put up the close-up shots of paintings that I took… Thanks anyway…

      Destination Infinity

  7. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com

    I used to visit a similar fort museum in Malaysia whilst growing up. I should visit more museums and such historic places, often 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      Museums are fun to visit when we have time to actually read some of the notes against displays. We can learn so much… Sometimes I feel guilty that I allocate very less time while visiting a museum! I am sure there are so many museums in Orlando. Do visit them and put up some pictures…

      Destination Infinity

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