Hooghly (হুগলি Hugli or হুগলী Huglī) is a former Portuguese colony at the Hooghly River, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal.
Understand
[edit]Hooghly is the oldest European settlements in Bengal. In 1536, Portuguese traders obtained a permit from Bengali Sultan Mahmud Shah to trade in this area. In 1579, Mughal Emperor Akbar gave permission to Portuguese captain Pedro Tavares to establish a city anywhere in Bengal. They chose Hooghly (Portuguese: Ugulim) and established Fort Ugulim there. Within a few decades, Hooghly became a major commercial centre and the largest port in Bengal. In 1629, political disorder struck Hooghly, and the Mughal governor of Bengal expelled the Portuguese.
In 1690, Job Charnock decided to shift the British trading centre from Hooghly to Calcutta. The reason behind this decision was the strategically safe location of Calcutta and its proximity to the Bay of Bengal. As a result, trade and commerce in Bengal shifted from Hooghly to Calcutta and Hooghly lost its importance.
Get in
[edit]By train
[edit]- 1 Hooghly Howrah (HGY). One of the oldest railway stations in India. The first commercial railway service in Eastern India began on 15 August 1854 on its first run between Howrah and Hooghly.
- 2 Hooghly Ghat Howrah (HYG).
Get around
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See and do
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- 1 Hooghly Jail (Hooghly District Correctional Home). Founded in 1817 beside the Hooghly River, Hooghly Jail is one of the oldest prison centres in West Bengal. During British rule, political prisoners were kept there in solitary confinement.
- 2 Hooghly Imambara (suburban: Hooghly Ghat Eastern ). A congregation hall for Shia Muslims. It was built with the money of Haji Muhammad Mohsin from 1841 to 1861. The building is a two storied structure, with a tall clock tower over the entrance gate. The mosque has intricate designs and texts from Quran engraved on the wall. The interior of the mosque is decorated with marbles, candles and hanging lanterns.
- 3 Jubilee Bridge. A former rail bridge over the Hooghly River between Bandel and Naihati. The bridge was opened on 16 February 1885 in the golden jubilee year of the reign of Queen Victoria. The bridge served the people for 129 years, and several generations used the service to cross the River Hooghly. The bridge was the first permanent crossing over the Hooghly, which had been considered unbridgeable owing to difficult foundation conditions at that time. The bridge was replaced by Sampreeti Setu (New Jubilee Bridge) in 2016, India's first continuous truss bridge. However, the old bridge is still there and is obscured by the new bridge when viewed from the south.
- 4 Tomb of Haji Muhammad Mohsin, Imambara Rd (N of suburban: Hooghly Ghat Eastern ; next to the Jubilee Bridge). Haji Muhammad Mohsin (1732–1812) was a philanthropist. He had inherited a lot of money from his relatives and spent them mostly in philanthropy. He had built a waqf trust in 1804 to spend his remaining money in philanthropy. The Hooghly Imambara, Hooghly Mohsin College and numerous other colleges were built with the money of Haji Muhammad Mohsin.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]| Routes through Hooghly |
| Bardhaman ← Pandua ← | NW  S
|
→ Chinsurah → Chandannagar |
| Nabadwip ← Bansberia ← | N  S
|
→ Chinsurah → Chandannagar |
| Bardhaman ← Pandua ← | NW  S
|
→ Chinsurah → Chandannagar |