Galle Fort  in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast, was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. It is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 432 years maintains a polished appearance, due to extensive reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.

The fort has a colourful history, and today has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. The Sri Lankan government and many Dutch people who still own some of the properties inside the fort are looking at making this one of the modern wonders of the world. The heritage value of the fort has been recognized by the UNESCO and the site has been inscribed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria iv, for its unique exposition of “an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.”

The Galle Fort, also known as the Dutch Fort or the “Ramparts of Galle”, withstood the Boxing Day tsunami which damaged part of coastal area Galle town. It has been since restored.

Early

Galle’s earliest historical existence is traced to Ptolemy’s world map of 125–150 AD when it was a busy port, trading with Greece, Arab countries, China and others. Its mention as a “port of call of the Levant” is made in the cosmography of Cosmas Indicopleustes. This is the harbour where the Portuguese, under the leadership of Lourenço de Almeida, made their first landing in 1505 on the island and caused a notable change in developments on the island with their close friendship with Dharmaparakrama Bahu (1484–1514), the then king of the country. Before the Portuguese arrived here, Ibn Batuta had touched base at this port.

The Portuguese

The fort, originally built by the Portuguese in the 16th century to defend Galle, was an earthen structure with pallisades covering the northern inland side with a rampart and three bastions. They believed that the seaward side was impregnable and hence did not construct any fortifications on the sea side. The sea wall was an addition made in 1729 to make the city planning for defense purposes complete in all respects.

This was the beginning of the fort’s history, along with a Franciscan chapel (now mostly in ruins) inside the fort in 1541. The fort also, in later years, served as prison camp to incarcerate Sinhalese natives who opposed the Portuguese. The Portuguese had moved to Colombo from Galle as they preferred the latter. In 1588, however, they were attacked by the Sinhalese King Raja Singha I (1581–93) of Sitawaka, which forced the Portuguese to return to Galle. At Galle, they initially built a small fort out of palm trees and mud. They called it the Santa Cruz, and later extended it with a watch tower and three bastions and a “fortalice” to guard the harbour.

The Dutch

In 1640, the events took a turn with the Dutch entering the fray joining hands with King Rajasinhe II to capture the Galle Fort. The Dutch, with a force of some 2,500 men under Koster, captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1640 itself. Although not an ideal situation for the Sinhalese, they were instrumental in building the fort as seen in its present form in the Dutch architectural style. Fortifications were added up to the early 18th century. The establishment consisted of public administration buildings, warehouses and business houses and residential quarters. A Protestant church (planned by Abraham Anthonisz) was also built in baroque style in 1775 to cater to the colonists and the local people who were converted to Christianity. The most prominent buildings in the fort complex were the Commandant’s residence, the arsenal and the gun house. Other buildings erected in the fort catered to trade and defense requirements such as workshops for carpentry, smithy, rope making and so forth. They also built an elaborate system of sewers that were flooded at high tide, taking the sewage away to sea.

The British

The British took over the fort on 23 February 1796, one week after Colombo was captured. Sri Lanka remained a British colony formally from 1815 till it became an independent island nation in 1948. The importance of Galle also declined after the British developed Colombo as their capital and main port in the mid nineteenth century.

Modifications

When the fort came under the control of the Dutch, they considered the old fortifications built by the Portuguese unsafe as they were made of earth and palisades. Hence, the Dutch decided to fully encircle the entire peninsula by building impregnable fortifications as defense against other colonial agencies in the region. They built some 14 bastions with coral and granite stones over an area of (52 hectares (130 acres)). Many of the fortification walls were built in 1663. The city built within the fort was well-planned with a grid layout and the peripheral roads aligned parallel to fort’s ramparts.

The Two Gates

The fort has two gates. The two towering gates to the fort are termed “Portcullised gates” and the first gate of entry from the port is inscribed “ANNO MDCL XIX” which has depiction of Dutch Coat of Arms with the ubiquitous emblem of cock and an inset “VOC” inscribed in the centre.

The Main Gate is along the northern stretch of the fort on the land side and is heavily fortified. The Portuguese had built a moat here which was widened during the Dutch rule by breaking the fort wall in 1667 and building the Star, Moon and Sun bastions. Its construction is also dated to the British period from 1897 to facilitate easy flow of traffic to the old town. This gate was fortified with a draw bridge surrounded by a moat; inscriptions here indicate 1669 as the year of construction. Some of the other named bastions are: The Aurora Bastion, the Tremon Bastion, the Kleipenberg Bastion and the Emaloon Bastion, adding an element of grandeur to the fort as a whole.

Walking along the fort wall in a clockwise direction leads to the Old Gate where the British Coat of Arms is seen inscribed at the entrance at the top. In the inner part of the gate there is the 1668 dated inscription of the letters VOC, an abbreviation of Verenigde Oostindindische Compagnie, meaning Dutch East India Company with the insignia of a cock flanked by two lions. Further along the fort wall is the Portuguese-built oldest bastion, known as Zwart Bastion, meaning Black Bastion. The eastern section of the fort terminates in the Point Utrecht Bastion; the powder house is also seen here. The 18 metres (59 ft) high Galle Lighthouse was erected here in 1938. The next stretch of the fort wall is the location of Flag Rock Bastion, which was used as a signaling station to warn ships entering the port of the hazardous rocky stretches of the bay. Ships were warned by firing musket shots from the Pigeon Island near the Flag Rock. Further along the fort walls is the Trion Bastion where a windmill drew water from the sea to sprinkle the dusty roads of the town; it is also a view point to watch sunsets. Many more bastions are seen along the fortifications from this location up to the Main Gate.

The Fort really resembles a small laid out walled town, with a rectangular grid pattern of streets full of the low houses with gables and verandas in the Dutch colonial style. It has a well laid out road network. The fort area also has a number of historic churches, mosques, commercial and government buildings. Some of the locals stroll along the walls of the fort in the evenings.

After the fort came under the control of the British in 1796, it remained their southern headquarters. They made many modifications to the fort such as closing of the moat, building of houses, a lighthouse on the Utrecht Bastion, a gate between the Moon Bastion and the Sun Bastion. A tower was particularly erected in 1883 to commemorate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. The Second World War saw many more fortifications built to defend the fort. In spite of all the changes made over the years, since it was first built between the 16th and the 19th century, the Galle Fort still remains a unique monument complex said to be “the best example of a fortified city with a fusion of European architecture and South Asian traditions built by Europeans in South and Southeast Asia”.

In the fort area, many buildings are of Dutch vintage with street names also in Dutch. The sewerage system built in the fort area ensured that the city sewerage was flushed into the sea during the tidal cycle. The Dutch exploited the musk rats in the sewers by exporting them to extract musk oil.

Some of the important heritage monuments in the fort are the Dutch Reformed Church, with its historic belfry dated 1707 and cast in 1709, which rang every hour;the old Dutch government house; the residence of the Commander; Great Warehouse near the Old Gate, built around 1669 to store spices and ship equipment (which now houses the National Maritime Museum); the Old Dutch Hospital; the Meera Mosque built in 1904; the Buddhist temple built at the site of Portuguese Roman Catholic church; the All Saints Anglican Church built in 1871; the 1882 Clock Tower and the 1939 Galle Lighthouse.

Dutch Reformed Church

The Marine Archaeological Museum

The Maritime Museum

National Museum Galle

The Black Fort

Sri Sudarmalaya Temple

Al Mareen Mosque

All Saint’s Anglican Church

The Clock Tower

The Groote Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) was built in 1640. However, it was remodeled between 1752 and 1755. The church is paved with grave stones from the old Dutch cemetery. There is an old organ of 1760 vintage in the church where services are held and a pulpit made of calamander wood from Malaysia is used.

The Dutch Reformed Church actuated on 04th July,1752  is an important historical construction situated in Galle Fort. The construction work of this building was carried on under the supervision of Mr. Abraham Antonius the superintendent of the carpenters who were engaged in ship building at the Galle harbour. This Church bas built at the expense of Mr. Casparis Jong,  Galle Commandeer as a thanks offering to God in celebration of the birth of a daughter to his daughter who had that child after a long time. His daughter Adriana Johana was christened in this Church on 24th August, 1755.This Church is built on a cross shaped base according to the architecture in building Dutch Churches. Therefore, this church in known as “Cross Church” (Kruiskerk in Dutch). The gable at the front of this building made in a pattern, which is not seen in any other synchronous building, is a salient feature.

The death bodies of officers attached to Dutch East India Company and their family members were deposited in small cabins underground the Church premises. Details  of deceased are written on those numerous plaques laid flat on the floor, inside the Church. Dutch considered important that the bodies of dead reformed be buried in the Reformed Churches or within those premises believed as closer places to heaven. The last burial inside the Church is said to have taken place in 1863. Mostly the high officers had the privilege of placing a monumental plaque inside the Church. The old organ in the Church is one brought from Denmark in early 18th century. The organ was operated with air pumped in manually by Portuguese servants. The last operator was Frederik Pieter Schools who operated the organ in 1930 decade.

The Marine Archaeological Museum in Galle Fort was first established on 4^th March 2010 in the Old Dutch Warehouse Building, originally used by the Dutch East India Company (VOC).  Its main objective was to place on public display marine archaeological artefacts, recovered by the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Central Cultural Fund, in diving operations carried out in the Galle Sea Bay area, since 1993, under the Avondster Project, which was launched with assistance from the Netherlands.

The Maritime Museum in Galle functions under the Department of National Museums.  This museum was established on 09.05.1992.  This museum displays exhibits on the lives of all living beings in the marine environment, ranging from tiny single-cell life forms to the largest living being, the blue whale.  It displays the habitats of all these beings, including mangroves, salty wetlands, sand dunes, beach, sea grass and coral, and the eco systems sustaining all these living creatures and their inter-relationships, impacting on the bio-diversity of the entire globe.

This museum was almost totally destroyed by the tsunami of 26^th December 2004.  It was re-opened for public viewing on 18.05.2009.  It is open to the public on all days from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, except on Sundays, Mondays, and public holidays.

The National Museum in Galle was opened for public viewing on 28^th March 1986.  Its main objectives were to protect the social and cultural heritage unique to the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and also provide education, knowledge, understanding and entertainment.  It is a provincial museum managed by the Department of National Museums.

This museum contains three exhibition galleries.

The first gallery depicts the historic Galle Fort and the cultural and social heritage of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.  The second gallery displays artefacts belonging to the colonial era and the third gallery is dedicated to the historical relations between China and Sri Lanka.

This part known as “Kalu Kotuwa” at present was called “Saint Croose” or “Fortaliza” by Portuguese. This Kalu Kotuwa had been equipped with various requirements of war such as tunnels, underground caverns, closets and warehouses as usual for a Portuguese Fortress. Facilities had been provided on the ground floor to erect cannons aimed towards the harbor. The circular shaped front of the upper floor was connected to the ground floor with a tunnel passageway tall enough even for a soldier to walk along.

In here are some watch huts used by soldiers as well. The outer wall of the rampart at this place is made of coral limestone using plaster of lime and sand. Klu Kotuwa is the oldest and the strongest memento reflecting the contribution by Portuguese for the construction of this enormous monument called Galle Fort.

Although majority of the population in Galle Fort were Buddhists up to recent times there is only one Buddhist religious place. The Buddhist temple seen now had been constructed in 1889 in a land donated by Mr. S.A.Wickramasinghe a Mudliar and a benefactor who lived in Galle Fort those days. The  fact that the impact of Dutch and European architectures influenced during the foreign regimes even in the construction of Buddhist religious places can be observed paying attention on the architectural features of this temple.

There were no moors in the Galle Fort during Portuguese  regime and later after the Fort came under Dutch they were permitted to occupy in there. Accordingly, they had the freedom of trading as they wished and to live in the Fort. A map prepared in 1770 AD bear evidence of a mosque on the site where the present mosque is situated.  In the decade 1890 this mosque was a single storied building with a roof of Sinhala tiles. The present white coloured mosque of lofty style was built in 1902 AD.

This church had been constructed under the guidance of Anglican Sector of Christian Religion and therefore is known as Anglican Church. The construction of his massive , impressive church was completed on 21st February,1871 according to a plan made by famous architect Mr. James A Smither , Architect for the Public Works Department during 19th century. This land considered the “Queen’s Garden” had been donated to Church of England by the then Government.

This clock tower is a representative symbol of Galle can be identified as the tallest clock tower in the island. This was constructed in the year 1883 according to a plan made by an Engineer named John Henry Gues Landon in commemoration of the first Ceylonese who obtained the F.R.C.P medical degree from University of London (1822-1903). A great donor and Mudliar Mr. Samson De Abrew Rajapaksha who lived in Kosgoda donated the clock here.
Earlier there was a belfry built with stones at this place that was removed in 1879 and the clock tower of a height 25.3 Meters was constructed.