SSC
The Mattancherry Palace (Dutch Palace) is located in:
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Answer: Option D — Kochi, Kerala
Detailed Solution
The Mattancherry Palace, popularly known as the Dutch Palace, is located at Mattancherry, in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala.
About the Mattancherry Palace:
- It was built by the Portuguese around 1545 and presented to Veera Kerala Varma, the Raja of Kochi (Perumpadappu Swaroopam).
- The Portuguese gave the palace to the Raja possibly as compensation for plundering a nearby temple, and to win his favour for trade.
In 1663, the Dutch captured Kochi from the Portuguese. They renovated and extended the palace, and it came to be known as the "Dutch Palace".
It is built in the traditional Kerala "nalukettu" style, with a central courtyard, and has a temple of Pazhayannur Bhagavathy (the family deity of the royal family) inside.
It was used for royal coronations and ceremonies of the Kochi rulers.
It is famous for its Kerala murals, painted on the walls of the royal bedchamber and other rooms. They depict scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas, in Hindu temple art style, and cover about 300 square feet. They are among the finest Kerala murals.
Today, it is a museum run by the Archaeological Survey of India. It displays royal costumes, palanquins, weapons, portraits of the Kochi rajas and other items.
Other places in Mattancherry and Fort Kochi:
Paradesi Synagogue (1568): the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, in "Jew Town", Mattancherry.
St. Francis Church (Fort Kochi): one of the oldest European churches in India (1503), where Vasco da Gama was first buried (his remains were later taken to Portugal).
Chinese fishing nets (cheenavala) on the Fort Kochi shore.
Santa Cruz Basilica.
The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India's largest contemporary art exhibition, is held in Fort Kochi.
Other palaces of Kerala:
- Hill Palace (Tripunithura, Kochi): the largest archaeological museum in Kerala.
- Padmanabhapuram Palace: the old palace of the Travancore kings, now in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.
- Kuthira Malika (Thiruvananthapuram).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Kozhikode is where Vasco da Gama landed (Kappad, 1498).
- ✗Puducherry was a French colony.
- ✗Goa was a Portuguese colony.
Quick tip
Remember: Mattancherry (Dutch) Palace = Kochi, Kerala (built by the Portuguese about 1545, renovated by the Dutch 1663; Kerala murals); Paradesi Synagogue (1568) = Mattancherry; St. Francis Church = Fort Kochi.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.