Velha Goa

Velha Goa
State :	India
State :	Goa
District :	North Goa
Sub-district :	Tiswadi
Location :	15 ° 30 ′  N , 73 ° 55 ′  E Coordinates: 15 ° 30 ′  N , 73 ° 55 ′  E
Residents :	5,411 (2001)
Cathedral of St. Cajetan in Velha Goa

The city of Velha Goa (English Old Goa , German "Alt-Goa"), originally just called Goa , is located in the West Indian state of Goa on the left bank of the Mandovi River ; Velha Goa used to be the capital of the Portuguese colony Portuguese India .

Goa is a very old Hindu city, in its current state it was re-established in the 15th century. From 1510 it was the capital of Portuguese India , from 1534 the seat of a Catholic bishop, from 1560 an archdiocese. In its heyday, Goa had around 300,000 inhabitants.

Velha Goa, Chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria

After several malaria epidemics in the 17th century and in the first half of the 18th century (especially in 1738) the majority of the population moved to the then suburb of Panaji; As the seat of the Viceroy of Portuguese India, the city remained in existence until 1759, as the capital of the colony until 1843 - when today's Panaji became the capital and at the same time went down in history as Nova Goa ("New Goa"), while Goa when Velha Goa (ie "Old Goa") was called and lost in importance (the name has remained until today).

Velha Goa, formerly known as the "Rome of the Orient", is now a partially dilapidated city that has been recaptured by the jungle, which nevertheless houses many relics of the earlier, imposing style of Portuguese colonial architecture. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List .

Foreign tourists and Indian pilgrims come to Velha Goa in droves these days, be it to admire the gigantic facades and gilded altars of the well-preserved churches or to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Francis Xavier , the famous missionary from the 16th century, whose remains are kept in the Basílica do Bom Jesus .

Of the most famous monuments of the city, at least the following can be mentioned:

• the Sé Catedral cathedral , the largest building in the city
• the Basílica do Bom Jesus with the tomb of St. Francisco de Xavier
• the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi and the adjoining monastery church of the Holy Spirit
• the church of St. Cajetan based on the model of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but smaller than this.

Web links

Commons : Old Goa  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Illustration of the city in 1509 in Civitates orbis terrarum by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Census of India 2001: Population, population in the age group 0-6 and literates by sex - Cities / Towns (in alphabetic order) ( Memento from June 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive )