Bandel Church, Kolkata

Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal
and is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River. It is a very old city of India and is the third most populous metropolitan city. Bandel church is one of the most prominent and oldest churches in India. The name Bandel comes from the Bengali word ‘Bandar’ meaning port. It is 43 kms from Kolkata, West Bengal. This religious monument also stands as a symbol of Portuguese settlement in India in 1599, dedicated to Lady of Rosary. The Bandel Church also acts as a pilgrimage for the Roman Catholics from all over the world.

It was during the 16^th century Portuguese used Bandel as a port and later on around 1571 the Mughal Emperor Akbar gave them permission to build a town for their benefit. As a result by 1598 there was lots of Catholic around Hooghly having both native and mixed races. In 1579 they also built a port and a fort as well. The Portuguese then asked for permission to preach christanism and erect churches there thus the Bandel Church was built in 1599. In 1632 it was burnt by the Moors and then in its place a newer church was constructed in 1660 by Gomez De Soto. The oldest and the most attractive church of India welcome you through an arched gateway on the banks of the Hooghly River. The entrance is copulated with a statue of Mother Mary and Jesus standing in a boat. The church has altogether three altars, a small organ and many tomb stones. It also has a shrine of Mother Mary and has a statue of Our Lady of the Happy Voyage on the balcony of the church. It is said that the statue reappeared itself back after it was drowned for several days. There is also a garden area in the church which has many beautiful flowers with distinctive colors. It is said by many people who have visited the church that Mother Mary fulfills one wish. The Bandel Church is visited by people from all over the world

Places nearby 

Tarakeswar 

It attracts large number of tourists every year and houses the Taraknath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and also houses the shrines of Lakshmi Narayan and Kali nearby. During Shivratri thousands of devotees comes to offer prayers in the temple and on regular days Mondays is almost crowded with devotees. 6 kms from there is also a Buddhist temple located.

Imambara

The famous Imambara is the two storied building having a mosque and a graveyard of Haji Mohammad Mahasin who built it in 1861. The wall has been beautifully decorated with the writings of the Holy Koran and is located on the bank of the river Ganges.

Kamarpukur

Kamarpukur is a birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans. In 1951 a temple was built here. There are a number of other temples and old buildings here also including the ancestral home of Swami Ramakrishna. Yogi’s Siva temple and Raghubir temple are the two nearby temples that is also been widely visited by the tourists.

How to reach

By air: The nearest airport is the Netaji Subhash Chandra Airport which is 36 km away from the destination.

By train: Trains are easily accessible to Bandel from any other major cities of the country. The nearest railway station is the Bandel Junction.

By road: through road it takes 1hour and 50 mins to reach Bandel from Kolkata with a clean traffic which is a hard thing to ask for.