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{{About|2nd capital of Portuguese India|the town in North Goa |Goa Velha|the UNESCO World Heritage Site|Churches and Convents of Goa}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Old Goa
| native_name                     = {{Transliteration|kok|Pornnem Gõy, Adlem Gõy}} ([[Konkani in the Roman script|Konkani]])<br />{{native name|pt|Velha Goa}}
| other_name                      = 
| settlement_type                 = City
| image_skyline                   =
| imagesize                       = 250px
| image_alt                       = 
| image_caption                   = 1. Capela de Santa Catarina.<br />2. Igreja de São Francisco de Assís.<br />3. Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina.<br />4. Basílica do Bom Jesus.<br />5. Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário.<br />6. Igreja de São Caetano.
| mapsize                         = 150px
| pushpin_map                     = India Goa#India
| coordinates                     = {{coord|15.503|N|73.912|E|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[States of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[Districts of Goa|District]]
| subdivision_type3               = [[Talukas of Goa|Sub District]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Goa]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[North Goa District|North Goa]]
| subdivision_name3               = [[Ilhas]]
| subdivision_name4               = {{flag|Portugal}}
| established_title               = Established
| established_date                = 1510
| founder                         = [[Afonso de Albuquerque]]
| named_for                       = "Old Goa" in Portuguese
| government_type                 = Panchayat
| leader_title                    = Sarpanch
| leader_name                     = 
| area_footnotes                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 4
| elevation_m                     = 6
| population_total                = 2550
| population_as_of                = 2011
| population_density_km2          = auto
| demographics_type1              = Languages
| demographics1_title1            = Official
| demographics_type2              = Religions<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/626734-goa-velha-goa.html | title=Goa Velha Census Town City Population Census 2011-2020 &#124; Goa}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1            = Dominant
| demographics2_info1             = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| postal_code_type                = Postcode
| postal_code                     = 403403
| area_code                       = 0832
| area_code_type                  = Telephone Code
| website                         = 
| footnotes                       = 
| demographics1_info1             = [[Konkani language|Konkani]]
| demographics1_title2            = Also Spoken
| demographics1_info2             = [[English language|English]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| demographics1_title3            = Historical
| demographics1_info3             = [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| demographics2_title2            = Minor
| demographics2_info2             = [[Hinduism]]
| demographics2_title3            = Historical
| demographics2_info3             = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| timezone                        = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset                      = +5:30
}}

'''Old Goa''' ([[Konkani in the Roman script|Konkani]]: {{Transliteration|kok|Pornnem Gõy; Adlem Gõy}}; {{langx|pt|Velha Goa|translation='Old Goa'}}) is a [[historical site]] and [[city]] situated on the southern banks of the [[River Mandovi]], within the [[Tiswadi]] ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of [[North Goa district]], in the Indian [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Goa]].

The city was established by the [[Bijapur Sultanate]] in the 15th century AD. After the [[Portuguese conquest of Goa]], it served as capital of [[Portuguese India]]n possessions, such as Mumbai/Bombay (''[[Bom Bahia]]'') territory and the state of Kochi/Cochin (''[[Cochin State|Cochim]]''), until its abandonment in the 18th century AD due to a [[Plague (disease)|plague]]. Under Portuguese rule, it is said to have been a city of nearly 200,000 people, from whence the [[spice trade]] was carried out across the [[Portuguese East Indies]]. The deserted city, containing churches and convents of outstanding architectural and religious importance, has been declared a [[World Heritage Site]] by the [[UNESCO]].<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/234 |title = Churches and Convents of Goa |website = UNESCO World Heritage Convention |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 18 Jun 2023}}</ref> Old Goa is approximately {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=off}} east of the current state capital of [[Panjim]] ({{langx|pt|Nova Goa|translation='New Goa'}}).

==Etymology==
[[File:Jezuchea Povitr Kallzacho Putllo, Adlea Goeam.JPG|thumb|Statue dedicated to the [[Sacred Heart of Jesus]] erected opposite the Cathedral of the [[Archdiocese of Goa and Daman]], on the occasion of 400 years of the establishment of the [[Archdiocese]] in 1957]]
The name "Old Goa" was first used in the 1960s in the address of the [[Romi Konkani]] monthly magazine, dedicated to spread the devotion of the [[Sacred Heart of Jesus]], ''[[Dor Mhoineachi Rotti]]'', which was shifted to the [[Basilica of Bom Jesus]] in 1964. Postal letters were returned to the sender, as the name "Old Goa" was unknown then, according to then- and long-time editor of the monthly, the great Goan historian late Father [[Moreno de Souza]], S.J.

The village panchayat uses the name Sé-Old Goa, while the [[lndia Post]] and the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] use the name Velha Goa.

The place is popularly called ''Saibachem Gõy'' (referring to Saint [[Francis Xavier]] as ''Saib'', i.e., Master), ''Pornnem Gõy'', ''Adlem Gõy'', or simply just ''Gõy'' in Konkani.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Velha Goa should not be confused with [[Goa Velha]] lying a few miles away. The names ''Vhoddlem Gõy'' and ''Thorlem Gõy'' ("Big Goa") refer to Goa Velha; while ''Gõy'', besides referring to Velha Goa ("Old Goa"), also generally refers to the entire [[Goa]] state.<ref>Fr. Moreno de Souza, S.J. ''Dor Mhoineachi Rotti''. July 2001.</ref>

==History==
The city was founded in the 15th century as a port on the banks of the [[Mandovi]] river by the rulers of the [[Bijapur Sultanate]]. It was built to replace Govapuri, which lay a few kilometres to the south and had been used as a port by the [[Kadamba Dynasty|Kadamba]] and [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagar]] kings. Old Goa was the second capital after [[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]] of the rule of [[Adil Shahi Dynasty]]. It was surrounded by a moat and contained the [[shah]]'s palace, [[mosques]], and [[temples]]. The city was [[Conquest of Goa (1510)|captured by the Portuguese]] and was under [[Portugal|Portuguese]] rule from 1510 as the administrative seat of [[Portuguese India]].

The viceroy's residence was transferred in 1759 to the future capital, [[Panjim]] (a village about 9 kilometres to its west). Few remnants, if any, of the pre-Portuguese period remain at Old Goa.

During the mid-16th century, the Portuguese colony of Goa, especially Velha Goa, was the center of [[Christianisation]] in the East.<ref>{{harvnb|de Mendonça|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mh3kKf0VSfQC&pg=PA67 67]}}</ref> The city was evangelized by all religious orders, since all of them had their headquarters there.<ref>{{harvnb|Meersman|1971|p=107}}</ref> The population was roughly 200,000 by 1543. Malaria and cholera epidemics ravaged the city in the 17th century and it was largely abandoned, only having a remaining population of 1,500 in 1775. It was then that the viceroy moved to Panjim. It continued to be the ''de jure'' capital of Goa until 1843, when the capital was shifted to Panjim (Ponnjê in Konkani, Nova Goa in Portuguese and Panaji in Hindi). The abandoned city came to be known as "Velha Goa" (in Portuguese, 'Old Goa'), to distinguish it from the new capital Nova Goa ([[Panaji|Panjim]]) and probably also [[Goa Velha]] (also meaning "Old Goa"), which was the Portuguese name for the town on the old site of Govapuri.

Velha Goa was incorporated into the Republic of India after its [[Annexation of Goa|annexation in 1961]], with the rest of Goa. It retains its religious significance in modern-day Goa, notably in its relations with Roman Catholicism. The Archbishop of Goa and Daman holds title as the [[Patriarch of the East Indies]]. Unlike the [[patriarch]]s and the [[major archbishop]]s of the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], the Patriarch of the East Indies only enjoys honorary title and is fully subject to the [[Pope]]. He has a place in the [[Latin Church]] similar to the [[Patriarch of Venice|Patriarchs of Venice]] and [[Patriarch of Lisbon|Lisbon]]. This title was conferred upon the Archbishop of Goa as part of a settlement between the [[Holy See]] and the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] government concerning the link between religious and political aspects of its territories.

==Churches of Old Goa==
Old Goa contains churches including the [[Se Cathedral]] (the seat of the [[Archbishop of Goa]]), the [[Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi]], the [[Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount]], the Church of St. Caetano and, notably, the [[Basilica of Bom Jesus]] which contains the relics of [[Saint Francis Xavier]], who is celebrated every year on 3 December with novenas beginning on 24 November.

[[File:Old Goa church view.jpg|thumb|alt=Old Goa Church view]]

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:St. Francis Church at Velha Goa.jpg|[[Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi|Church of St. Francis of Assisi]]
File:Old Goa Church 01.jpg|[[Basilica of Bom Jesus]]
File:Capela de Santa Catarina, Velha Goa, 2.jpg|Chapel of Saint Cathrine
File:St Cajetan Goa.jpg|Church of São Caetano in Old Goa
File:Old Goa, Se Cathedral 2.jpg|[[Se Cathedral]]
File:St-Anne-church-talaulim.jpg|Saint Anne's Church
File:Old Goa, Ruins of Church of St. Augustine.jpg|[[Church of St. Augustine, Goa|Church of Saint Augustine]] (now in ruins)
File:Old Goa,Church of Lady of Rosary.jpg|Church of Lady of Rosary
File:A Capela da Nossa Senhora de Monte.JPG|[[Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount]]
File:Igreja de São João de Deus, Velha Goa.jpg|Church of Saint John of God
File:Capela Real de São António, Velha Goa.jpg|Royal Chapel of St. Anthony
File:Old Goa church view.jpg|alt=Old goa church view|[[Basilica of Bom Jesus]]
</gallery>

==Location==
{{Geographic location|Centre=Velha Goa|North=[[Mandovi River]] and [[Piedade, Goa|Piedade]] in [[Divar|Divar Island]]|Northeast=[[Mandovi River]] and [[Divar|Divar Island]]|East=[[Ella, Goa|Ella]]|Southeast=[[Ella, Goa|Ella]]|South=[[Bainguinim]]|Southwest=[[Bainguinim]]|West=[[Bainguinim]] and [[Chimbel]]|Northwest=[[Mandovi River]] and [[Divar|Divar Island]]}}

==See also==
{{Commons}}
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
*[[Church of St. Anne, Talaulim]]
*[[Fort Bassein]]
*[[Goa]]
*[[Daman District, India|Damaon]]
*[[Velhas Conquistas]]
*[[Portuguese India]]
*[[Cumbarjua]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=50em}}
*{{Cite book
| last       = de Mendonça
| first      = Délio
| year       = 2002
| url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=Mh3kKf0VSfQC
| title      = Conversions and citizenry: Goa under Portugal 1510–1610
| publisher  = Concept Publishing Company
| isbn       = 978-81-7022-960-5
| access-date = 2011-12-05}}
*{{Cite book
| last       = Meersman
| first      = Achilles
| year       = 1971
| title      = The ancient Franciscan provinces in India, 1500–1835
| publisher  = Christian Literature Society Press
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050111053756/http://www.naturalnirvana.com/India/IndianStates/Goa/Old-Goa.htm History of Old Goa] (archived)
*[http://indiatourism.ws/goa/old_goa/ Old Goa] – India tourism

{{World Heritage Sites in India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Old Goa| ]]
[[Category:Colonial Goa]]
[[Category:History of Goa]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in North Goa district]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in India]]