kochi

Bastion Bungalow

Bastion Bungalow, situated on River Road in Fort Kochi, was built in 1667.

History
The Portuguese built Fort Immanuel during the early decades of the 16th century. When the Dutch captured Kochi in 1663, they started destroying the fort and reduced it to almost one third its size.  Originally, the fort had seven bastions. Of these, the Stormberg bastion was later converted to the Bastion Bungalow.
 
The Bungalow built around the circular structure of the bastion is a beautiful structure. Even when the British destroyed the walls of the fort during their invasion in 1806, they left the building untouched.

Architecture
The Bungalow, today the official residence of the Sub-Collector, is an impressive building of Dutch architecture.
 
Built into a wall of the original fort, it has long, open veradahs and a tiled roof in geometric patterns. Brick, laterite and wood have been mainly used for the construction. The first floor verandah is made entirely of wood. It is said that there is a network of secret tunnels beneath the bungalow, but nothing has been found yet.

The building was declared a protected monument by the State Archaeology Department a few years back.

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