Bandel Church | West Bengal |

Bandel Church | West Bengal |

Bandel Church is one of the oldest churches in India and is also known as Basilica of the Holy Rosary. The church was built in 1599 to commemorate the settlement of Portuguese in West Bengal. The church is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. She is also known as Our Lady of the Rosary and that’s why the church got the name.

Bandel town was established by Portuguese and it is situated in the Indian state of West Bengal. The name Bandel means port. The town comes under Hooghly district. Portuguese built a church and a monastery in 1660. There is a Dunlop factory nearby Bandel which is situated at a place called Sahaganj. The town is 40 km away from Howrah railway station and is connected to many places through road and rail transport.

Visiting Hours

Bandel Church can be visited from 6:00am to 6:00pm. It takes around two to three hours to visit the church as there are many things to visit in and around the church. The church is opened on all days including the public holidays.

Best time to visit

Bandel is situated nearby Hooghly river and the best time to visit the place is during winter months. In the rest of the period, the climate is either hot or is hot and humid. The period between 25th December and 10th January are very busy and people may face parking issue. On 25th December the church is closed for the tourists as Christians have to perform many rituals.

History

Bandel Church was constructed in Bandel by the Portuguese after their settlement on the banks of Hooghly river. The first man to arrive from Portugal was Vasco da Gama in 1498. The Portuguese were of the barbaric nature and did business through might and force. In 1535, Portuguese arrived in Bengal and started their trade from Saptagram which was situated on the banks of Saraswati river. In 1575, Mughal emperor Akbar allowed them to settle near Hooghly river. Meanwhile, river Saraswati dried up due to silting so the Portuguese started trading from there new settlement at Hooghly.

Statue of Mother Mary

Statue of Mother Mary sank in the river. One day Father Joan da Cruz heard the voice of Tiago saying that Mother Mary is coming but he neglected it. Next day he found the statue on the bank of the river. The fishermen brought it back and put it on the bank. They celebrated the return of the statue of Mother Mary.

Meanwhile, a Portuguese ship landed at the Bandel port and the captain said that they have faced a storm. The captain also said that he prayed to God that if they survive they will give the ship mast to the first church that they will see. As they have seen the Bandel church first, so they donated the ship mast to the church.

Ship Mast

There was a ship mast which was installed by a captain after his ship was saved from a storm. The ship mast was damaged when a tree feel down on it in 2010 due to a storm. After the storm, renovation has been done and the mast was kept in a glass enclosure.

How to Reach

Bandel is well-connected to major cities of India through railway network . Howrah to Bandel many trains available. Then Auto or Rekshow.

Nearby Places

Hooghly Imambara

Hooghly Imambara was built by Haji Mohammad Mohsin. The monument is situated on the banks of river Ganga in Chinsurah. It took around 20 years to build the monument as the construction was started in 1841 and completed in 1861.

Tarakeshwar Temple

Tarakeshwar temple was built in 1729 at Hooghly. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is worshipped as Taraknath. The architecture of the temple is based on Bengal temple architecture. The temple is visited all the year round and especially on Mondays. Other occasions on which the temple is most visited is Shivratri and Gajan.

Hangseswari Temple

Hangseswari temple was constructed in 19th century and is located in Bansberia in Hooghly. The temple has the height of 21m and there are 13 towers inside the temple having a lotus-shaped top. The temple is dedicated Goddess Hangseswari. Ananta Basudeba Temple is within the precincts of the Hangseswari Temple while Swanbhaba Kali Temple is nearby the temple.

Pandua Bari Mosque

Pandua Bari mosque was constructed in 1300AD having the dimensions of 7041m × 12.8m. The mosque has three aisles with 24 doors for entrance. There are 21 doors in front and three on side. Along with it, there are 63 domes on the roof which are situated over brick arches. The arches rest on stone pillars which depicts the influence of Hindu architecture.

Shanderswartala Temple

Shanderswartala Temple is located at the distance of 5km from Chinsura railway station and is considered as the oldest temple. Sideshwar Roy Choudhury constructed the temple on the banks of river Ganga. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva whose ilnga was placed by Digambar Haldar in 16th century.