Kolkat, Apr 12 (Agencies) : West Bengal was not a colony of the British only. There have been other countries who have made the state their home way back in the 18th and 19th centuries. Serampore, a town in the Hooghly district, has enough monuments that bear witness to a time the region was colonised by the British, French and the Danish. Also read: A day trip from Kolkata will take you to these 5 colonial towns

The St Olav's Church in Serampore is one of the most prominent monuments from the Danish rule. Locally known as the Danish Church, it was one of the 100 buildings that were constructed by the Danish management between 1755 and 1845, at a time when the town was called Frederiksnagore. Administered by the Calcutta Diocesan Trust Association, the 210-year-old church was kept under lock and key since 2013 as there was danger of its collapse.

Come April 16, travellers will be in for a treat as the two centuries old church will be thrown open to the public in a new way, following extensive restoration work done on the monument. According to reports, the original doors, windows and furniture were restored while flooring was relaid with sandstone from Rajasthan. Lime mortars and organic pigments were used on all walls, following the original colour scheme established through a scientific paint analysis.

The restoration work was carried out by a partnership between Serampore College and architectural firm Continuity, in collaboration with National Museum of Denmark (NMD). The restoration team included Conservation architect Manish Chakraborti from Kolkata and Dr Flemming Aalund from NMD.