THE RUINS OF ST. AUGUSTINE CHURCH, GOA

The Churches of Old Goa are among the most beautiful in India and rank quite high globally in their historical significance. These UNESCO world heritage monuments include the likes of Basilica of Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, The Church of our Lady of the Rosary, Chapel of Santa Catarina, The Church of Divine Providence; and last but not the least, The Ruins of the Church of St. Augustine. Each of these monuments are adorned with beauty, history and myths which have attracted tourists and researchers alike from around the globe. This post is about the St. Augustine Church, or shall I say, it's ruins.

Built during the late sixteenth century on the Holy Hill by the Augustinian Friars, St. Augustine Church, during its full glory, was rated amongst the top Augustinian Churches in the world. But History has its own way of structuring the past and by the mid of 19th century, the Church was abandoned post eviction of different religious orders by the then Portugese government of Goa. One after another, different parts of this magnificent monument started to crumble - the vault collapsed first, then the body. The bell meanwhile, was relocated. By the time the Church witnessed early twentieth century, the facade was gone and by mid of the century, half of the tower collapsed. Within a few more years that followed, most of the Church had crumbled into ruins. Today, just one half of one tower, from the original four towers, remains along with the ruins.

Hidden within the ruins are many stories, one of which is associated with the Georgian Queen St. Ketevan. The Queen was martyred during early seventeenth century by the Safavids. The hunt for the mortal remains of the Saint Queen was a high profile joint archaeological effort between India and erstwhile Soviet Union during late twentieth century. Post significant excavations during 2005 by the archaeologists of The Archaeological Survey of India, bone fragments were discovered within the ruins of the Church and it has been concluded beyond reasonable doubts that these samples belonged to the Saint Queen Ketevan.

History has its own records. Destiny has its own verdict. Otherwise a church as beautiful and majestic as the St. Augustine's Church wouldn't have been in ruins today. And the mortal remains of a Georgian queen martyred by the Safavids of Persia wouldn't have been traced within the ruins of this once magnificent church of Goa.

Comments

ANTWERP CENTRAL STATION

As deep as I can peep into my past, I always sense very fond and nostalgic memories of railway stations. So many moments of childhood began and ended in railway stations. My love for railway stations continues and whenever I get a chance I don't miss a visit into a station to experience the magical energy of the mixed sound of thousands of fast moving footsteps and eager voices. European settings provide infinite moments to any traveler. Antwerp is no exception too. Like any other European city with a strong medieval connect, Antwerp owns its history and legends. While it may take pages to write about Antwerp, let me restrict this post to the first landmark of Antwerp, its getaway - its very own train station, the Antwerp Central, located in Koningin Astreidplein, in the heart of the city. The brainchild of King Leopold II and designed by Louis Delacenserie, Antwerp Central, with its stone clad structure and huge dome, has s...

THE YACHTS OF VOLENDAM

There is something incredibly charming about fishing villages. Be it in Europe or anywhere else in the world. Possibly due to the presence of the sea so close...and the rituals of the sea, the fishermen are so adept at. The aspirations of the morning and the catch of the day...and the songs of the sea...of the calmness and the turbulence. Volendam is one such fishing village, located in Northern Netherlands about thirty minutes drive from the Amsterdam central by bus... there are a plenty of them from Amsterdam Central. The village is located on the lake IJsselmeer, the largest lake in the Netherlands. Vollendam means a "filled dam" and that is how it had started by filling an existing harbor and reclaiming the land artificially during the fourteenth century. A separate smaller canal and a new harbor was dug and this how this village was created. During the first half of twentieth century, as a part of the Dutch water management exercise, the water-body, which...

THE CLASSIC RIVALRY OF OLD ZAGREB

We stood there absorbing the beautiful sunset that Old Zagreb, locally known as Gornji Grad, offered. The February evening was delightfully clear and presented a view to remember. In front of us, mingling with the red tiled roofs, dominated majestically the two famous monuments - the Zagreb Cathedral of Kaptol and the St. Mark's Church of Gradec...along with the bits and the pieces of the historic panorama of a thousand years. Few centuries back, during the medieval period, when the region was not known as Zagreb, existed two hill top settlements - the Kaptol and the Gradec, separated by the then existing rivulet Medvescak. The Kaptol housed the Cathedral and was the religious center while the Gradec was home to the merchants and the craftsmen. It took the two settlements centuries of bitter rivalry before prudence took over and they decided to unify during the nineteenth century, thus together becoming Zagreb. The reasons for this bitterness were many ranging from s...

Miles and Experiences

Search This Blog