The Danes built a Danish trade post and a fort in Nagapattinam within a decade. By 1777, the Danes took complete control of Tranquebar and the region now known as Tarangambadi, or the village of the dancing waves. They ruled here till 1845 when they handed over the settlement to the British.

Neglected for more than a century, the abandoned Tranquebar settlement is now being developed as a tourist site. The Dansborg Fort is being renovated with funds collected by a voluntary agency in Denmark, Association of Tranquebar, with help from the Danish monarchy.

Princess Benedikte reviewed the renovation work at the fort. Tranquebar is the last point before the Cauvery river and its tributaries enter the sea.

The entrance to the small town of Tranquebar is through a crumbling gateway and arch. But some things have stood the test of time and an impressive royal Danish seal can be seen on a section of the arch that still stands.

After renovation work began last year, the weed and grass has been cleared and the arch still stands out to mark the frontiers of a lost Danish settlement.

There is little left of the fort. The brickwork has been cemented over -- no one knows why -- and renovators have a difficult job ahead. They have to reclaim from the ugly cement encasing, parts of the fort wall, cannons buried in cement and other structures scattered on the beach.

The princess also visited the governor's bungalow and the Zion Church, the memorial of Bartholameus Zeigenbalg, one of the first Lutheran missionaries, which are still intact and continue to draw tourists, particularly from Scandanavian countries.

The original church of Zion, also locally called the Jerusalem church, is closed because it is too dilapidated. However, a new practising church has now been set up.

The government's archaeological department has plans to reclaim the ruined jetties that still stand.

The crumbling fort has a museum of sorts where hundreds of original maps dating back to the seafaring days of the great Danes are stored in a musty hall.

The home of Rehling Gard, a Danish governor, is not open to the public as it has been converted into a teachers' training collage by the government.

After Tranquebar, the princess is scheduled to visit the former French settlement of Pondicherry, now one of India's most popular spiritual centres.

Over the weekend, the princess also decorated Prabhakar Rao, the honorary vice consul for Denmark in southern India, with the Belonningsmedalje Med Krone, an award from the Queen of Denmark Margrethe II.

Rao, president of corporate affairs in the Chemplast Sanmar group of industries, "has protected Danish interests in south India for 25 years and helped further Indo-Danish relations," said Michael Sternberg, ambassador of Denmark.