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Writer's pictureDe Kochi

Dutch Cemetery – Fort Kochi

Updated: Oct 6

Dutch Cemetery – Fort Kochi

The ancient Dutch Cemetery in Fort Kochi, the oldest European cemetery in India, is a tell-tale reminder of Dutch lives lost in their quest for trade and expansion. Every tombstone has a story of a historic past, of pride, of power.

Dutch-Cemetery-Tombs-Fort-Kochi

Tombstones – Dutch Cemetery


Dutch-Cemetery Tomb Stones – Fort Kochi

The tomb stones in Dutch-Cemetery at Fort Kochi are the most authentic record of the hundreds of Europeans who left their homeland on a mission to expand their colonial empires and changed the course of history of this land. The cemetery, which was consecrated in 1724, is believed to be the oldest in the country.

Plumeria Flowers - Dutch Cemetery, Fort Kochi

Plumeria Flowers – Dutch-Cemetery, Fort Kochi


Dutch Cemetery – Fort Kochi

The cemetery, built in the style of the Dutch architecture of the time, is surrounded by walls and the year 1724 is engraved on the entrance pillar. The epitaphs and tombs, numbering 104, carry the authentic records of hundreds of people of Dutch and British nationality.

Dutch-Cemetery -Tombs-and-Flowers-Fort-Kochi

Tombs and Flowers – Dutch Cemetery


Many of the tombs are made of granite and red laterite and have no cross. There are big as well as small tombstones and the inscriptions on the epitaphs are in the old Dutch script. In the cemetery lay buried many Dutch governors, commanders, officials, gents and ladies who died in Cochin.

Dutch Cemetery-Tomb-Fort-Kochi

Dutch Cemetery – Fort-Kochi


The cemetery is now managed by the Church of South India (CSI). The St. Francis CSI Church of Fort Kochi maintains a record of the people buried here. According to T W Venn, who published the book St Francis Church, Cochin, the last person who was laid to rest in this cemetery was Captain Joseph Ethelbert Winkler. His burial took place in 1913.

Dutch Cemetery – Location Map



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