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Forts in Sri Lanka date back thousands of years, with many being built by Sri Lankan kings. These include several walled cities. These include several walled cities. With the outset of colonial rule in the Indian Ocean , Sri Lanka was occupied by several major colonial empires that from time to time became the dominant power in the Indian Ocean.
Galle Fort is in Galle, which is located at the extreme southwest corner of the island, in the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, where the shoreline turns east towards Matara and Tangalle. The fort, like most of the forts in Sri Lanka, is built on a small rocky peninsula, belonging to the sea as much as to the land.
Ratnapura Dutch fort, (Sinhala: රත්නපුර ලන්දේසි බලකොටුව Rathnapura Landesi Balakotuwa), was built by the Dutch in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. The Portuguese had originally constructed a fort at Ratnapura in 1620 however was later captured and destroyed by Kirti Sri Raja Singha (the second Nayaka king of Kandy ).
It was constructed during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, by the Dutch East India Company to counter a possible British attack from the Bay of Bengal. [ 2 ] On the 27 August 1795, the fort was captured by British forces, the 61st Pioneers (also known as 1st Battalion Sepoys).
The fort has a structure of four bastions and is protected by the Batticaloa Lagoon on two sides and a canal on the other two sides. The fort is still in reasonable condition and currently houses several local administrative departments of the Sri Lanka government in new buildings, which are located within the old structure. [3]
This site may have been important in the competition between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions in ancient Sri Lanka. In Professor Senarath Paranavithana 's book The Story of Sigiri , King Dathusena is said to have taken the advice of the Persian Nestorian Priest Maga Brahmana on building his palace on Sigirya.
The fort area is a mixture of buildings from many eras of the cities past. The most notable of residences of the fort is the President's House, official residence of the President of Sri Lanka, next to the Gordon Gardens which was once open to the public is now part of the President's House. The residence traces it origins to the Dutch period ...
Today it remains garrisoned by a detachment of the Sri Lanka Army with limited access to visitors and is being renovated with Dutch funding. [2] Buildings inside the fort include the governor's residence (King's House), Queen's House, Kruys Church, the Garrison Parade Ground, Police quarters and several buildings from the Portuguese era. [3]