Gundert Bungalow in Thalassery Town of Kerala

Gundert Bungalow is where Dr. Hermann Gundert lived in Thalassery for twenty years. A German missionary, scholar and linguist, he came to Thalassery in 1839. He continued to live and work there for 20 years with his wife Julie. Ill health forced him to return to Germany in 1859.

Architecture of Gundert Bungalow

Gundert Bungalow is a heritage building. Its construction is in orthodox Kerala architectural style. The sloping tiled roof is exceptional. Large verandahs run along all four sides. The wooden doors and windows are big. The craftsmen have used  laterite stones and red clay roof tiles. These are all locally available materials. The laterite soil is remarkably red. Gundert Memorial Church and a cemetery are near the bungalow. River Kuyyali flows by Illikkunnu. Mangrove forests surround the area.

Hermann Gundert

Gundert and his wife set up a Basel Mission centre in Thalassery in 1839. He studied Malayalam diligently. Subsequently he organised a Malayalam school in the veranda of his bungalow. Later he started five more Malayalam schools in Thalassery and nearby areas.

Hermann Gundert created the first English-Malayalam dictionary. He also took up  the translation of many books into Malayalam. Moreover he established the first Malayalam newspaper, Paschimodayam. He published thirteen books in Malayalam including a translation of the Bible, Old Testament from Hebrew and New Testament from Greek.

All over the world, Hermann Gundert may be known as the grandfather of the German writer and Nobel laureate, Hermann Hesse. But in Kerala most people recognise Hesse as the grandson of Hermann Gundert.

NTTF Thalassery

The bungalow in Thalassery is now in the hands of NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation). NTTF imparts technical training in many streams of  engineering. They operate more than 20 training centres in India, including Thalassery

Getting to Gundert Bungalow

From Thalassery railway station, it is 4.6 km to Gundert Bungalow. If you board a local bus to Kannur, get down at Venus Corner in Koduvally. From there, it is a short autorickshaw ride of 650 m to the bungalow which is on top of a hill known as Illikkunnu.  Alternatively you could hire an autorickshaw or taxi from Thalassery.

TLY railway station is a Class A station. Most of the fast trains halt here, connecting places in Kerala and elsewhere. Kannur International Airport (CNN) is the closest airport.