History of Pondicherry
Walk One: The French Quarter
Rue Dumas
The French quarter developed
along the beach and around the
present Bharathi Park, which is
surrounded by stately government
buildings. Residential villas
extend on either side interspersed
by institutional structures. In
general the buildings fall into two
main categories: residential,
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Rue Law de Lauriston
which form the majority, and are
simple and varied, and public,
which are set amidst large plots
with fenced enclosures. French
building models were adapted to
suit local climatic conditions.
The street faades are usually
characterised by continuous wall-
and Tamil architectural patterns.
are a harmonious blend of European
many buildings in both parts of the town
influenced each other with the result that
Tamil Nadu. The two styles have
quarter are in the vernacular style of
style, whereas the buildings in the Tamil
has structures in the European classical
French and the Tamil. The French quarter
Pondicherry has two distinct parts: the
important to preserve all these houses.
heritage is to be protected then it is
houses, especially in the Tamil part. If this
the widespread destruction of traditional
the streetscapes is today threatened by
the 'milieu' or 'ensemble'. This quality of
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to-wall construction with high
garden walls and elaborate
gateways. The faades are
divided into smaller panels by the
use of vertical pilasters and
horizontal cornices, and feature
flat or segmental arched windows
with bands and louvered wooden
shutters. Wooden balconies over
iron brackets and continuous
parapets with simple ornamental
features are common.
Most French houses were built on
similar ground plans with few
variations and with full or partial
street frontage. The main faades
have colonnaded porticoes to
provide better protection from sun
and rain, and also act as a
transition space to the garden
court. A major change from the
original French model is the use
of flat terraced roofs instead of
the pitched roofs of the Parisian
villas.
The walled gardens form private
interior courts on to which the rest
of the building spaces open. The
interiors of the houses are usually
more ornate than the exterior.
High ceilings, tall arched doors
and windows mark the rooms,
and in the case of two storied
buildings, vaulted staircases wind
up. Often the inclined window
shades were made of light
materials like wood or metal.
Rue Cazy
Walk two: The Tamil Quarter
Pondicherry
Originally the native Tamil town Pre-colonial History
developed around the nucleus of
a group of temples in the northern
section, and the streets were laid
house is entered through a finely
carved wooden door. Once
inside, the mutram (colonnaded
Pallava Dynasty
Chola Dynasty
Pandya Dynasty
325
900
1279
- 900
- 1279
- 1370
Heritage Trail
along the east-west axis, onto courtyard) becomes the central
Vijayanagar Empire 1370 - 1614
which the back-to-back row family space around which the (under nayakship of Gingee)
houses opened. various other spaces are Sultanate of Bijapur 1614 - 1638
These streetscapes with functionally arranged. Some
continuous wall-to-wall Colonial History of Pondicherry
construction are very
different in character from Portuguese set up a factory 1523
the French streetscapes. Dutch buy textiles 1618
Their exterior faades Danes set up a factory 1624
mainly feature a thalvaram First French settlement 1674-1693
Dutch rule 1693-1700
(street veranda with a
French rule 1700-1761
lean-to roof over wooden
British rule 1761-1765
posts) - a social extension
French rule 1765-1778
of the house providing
British rule 1778-1783
shelter for the pedestrians
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French rule 1783-1793
- and a thinnai (semi-
British rule 1793-1815
public veranda space) with French rule 1815-1954
masonry benches for Rue Cazy
visitors and pilgrims.
These talking-streets, so called houses have several courtyards.
because of their intimate scale
Within the intimate fabric of the
and interactive nature, are typical
Tamil town an interesting
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of vernacular Tamil architecture,
morphology of built-form is
and the entire street stretch is
observed, ranging from the
homogeneous because of Rue de la Marine
simple country tiled single storied
connecting elements like lean-to-
houses of the old Hindu quarters,
roofs, cornices (horizontals), and
to the two-storied houses with It is the cross-influence of building patterns in the
pilasters and engaged columns
considerable colonial influence of Tamil and French quarters that gives the old town
(verticals) with ornamental
the later Hindu and Christian its distinct architectural vocabulary.
parapets, which define the
quarters, to the more elaborately At present, the guided walks are offered by prior
skyline. All houses are similar, but
ornamented and colourful houses appointment.
no two houses are exactly the
of the Muslim quarters. You can also discover the town on your own with
same.
On the whole, a synthesis of two the help of this Heritage Trail map.
The thinnai marks the sensitive
varying styles is evident in many
transition space after which the
buildings. Especially in
the case of some two-
For guided tours, please contact:
storied Tamil buildings,
Tourist Information Centre
the ground floor is (Pondicherry Tourism Development Corporation)
usually Tamil type with 40 Goubert Avenue, Pondicherry - 605 001
thinnai, thalvaram,
Tel : 2339497 / 2334575
pillared courtyard and
carved wooden doors,
while the first floor INTACH Heritage Center*
displays French (Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage)
influence through 62 Rue Aurobindo, Pondicherry - 605 001
Tel : 2225991 / 2227324
fluted pilasters,
EFFEO/FL
Toshak Patel
*Visit Architectural Heritage Exhibition
columns with capitals,
arched windows,
Vysial Street plaster decorations
Published by INTACH, Pondicherry
and end-ornament elements. December 2007 Rue Franois Martin
French and Tamil houses that create
character is a result of hundreds of a part of the Vijayanagar Empire, followed by Islamic rule.
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Pondicherry, its architectural empires from the 4th to14th centuries, and thereafter it became
are very few monumental buildings in laid out and rebuilt on its former foundations. Pondicherry was part of the Pallava, the Chola and Pandya
Heritage Walk of Pondicherry. There much of the old town of Pondicherry, as we know it today, had been
displayed in the Pondicherry Museum.
& Cultural Heritage) has planned this Tamil quarters, and streets were laid in the form of a grid. By 1768
Pondicherry Museum stones. The findings are now
INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art Pondicherry today. A storm water canal separated the French and
pottery and semi-precious
tourists and the citizens themselves, fortifications led to flattened ramparts, which form the boulevards of
trade included dyed textiles,
Paris returned Pondicherry to the French. The removal of
sensitive revelation of the city to in the 1st century AD. The
the ground, sparing only a few structures. However the Treaty of
traditions. With a view of offering a Romans came here to trade
retaliated by capturing Pondicherry in 1761 and razing the town to
observe the nature of its architectural the town, show that the
In 1746 the British lost Fort St. George in Madras to Dupleix, and
through the old town and closely about 7 kms to the south of
grew into a prominent fortified town and an important port of call. Excavations at Arikamedu,
Pondicherry it is essential to walk 'new settlement'.
in 1674. Under Governors such as Franois Martin and Dupleix, it
To experience the spirit of The flourishing trade attracted the French to establish a settlement name "Puducheri" meaning
which captivates the hearts of visitors. textiles. In the 17th century the Dutch and the Danes followed suit. interpretation of the original
The old town has a unique charm, In 1521 the Portuguese were the first Europeans to return to trade in "Pondicherry" is the French
Heritage Walks History of Pondicherry
 Walk One: The French Quarter

1 Town Hall (Mairie / Hotel de Ville)

2 Notre Dame des Anges Church
3 Ecole Francaie dExtreme-Orient
4 Cluny Embroidery Centre
5 Alliance Franaise
6 INTACH Heritage Center
7 Lyce Franaise
8 Art Gallery
9 Chamber of Commerce
10 UCO Bank
11 Assembly
H6 12 Cercle de Pondichry
13 Ashram Dinning Hall
14 Raj Nivas

C
27
15 Museum
31 25 26 16 Manakkula Vinayagar Temple
17 Sri Aurobindo Ashram
18 French Consulate
19 French Institute

H
Poulle
6 20 Golconde
Rue Nainiappa
21 Maison Colombani
24
Walk Two: The Tamil Quarter

M
30 29
H7 28 22 Bharathi Museum
23 Calve College
Rue
Caz 23 24 Sushilabai School
y
25 Iswaran Temple
22 26 Perumal Temple
27 Ananda Ranga Pillai Mansion
28 VOC School
29 Immaculate Conception Cathedral
30 Kutpa Mosque
16 31 Subbiah Museum
11 12 20
Establishments in Heritage Buildings
10 H5
17
Hotels
N H1 Villa Helena
H4 14 S6
4 9 H2 Hotel de lOrient
H3 Hotel de Pondichry
8 15 H4 Le Dupleix
3 0 50 100m H5 Hotel du Parc
21 3
18 19 H6 Hotel Ganga
i Tourist Information
Lighthouse H7 Reve Bleu
Restaurants
R3 R1 Rendez vous

R2 Satsanga
R3 Le Caf
Shops
S1 Via Pondichry
S2 Curio
S3 Kailash Bookshop
S4 Cottonwood
S5 Touchwood
S6 Fleurs en Flacon

Streetscapes

Hindu Quarter Temple

Christian Quarter Church

8, Rue de la Marine Hotel de lOrient 3, Rue Surcouf

Muslim Quarter Mosque