Ove Gjedde was a Danish nobleman and Admiral of the Realm. He established the Danish colony at Tranquebar and constructed Fort Dansborg as the base for the Danish settlement. He was a member of the interim government that followed the death of King Christian IV, which imposed restrictions by the Haandfæstningon his successor King Frederick III.
Portrait of Admiral of the Realm Ove Gjedde, by Karel van Mander III
Tomarps Kungsgård Castle in 1680's, by Burman & Fischer
Ove Gjedde, from J.P.Trap's "Berømte danske mænd og kvinder (1867)"
Tharangambadi, formerly Tranquebar, is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. Tranquebar was established on 19 November 1620 as the first Danish trading post in India. King Christian IV had sent his envoy Ove Gjedde who established contact with Raghunatha Nayak of Tanjore. An annual tribute was paid by the Danes to the Rajah of Tanjore until the colony of Tranquebar was sold to the British East India Company in 1845.
Fort Dansborg, built by the 17th century as seen in 2007; part of the wall is now under the sea.
A restored colonial house in Tranquebar
Town Gate
Antique items on display at the museum inside Fort Dansborg
