Galle Fort

Galle Fort in the Bay of Galle in the south-west of Sri Lanka, was first built in 1588 by the Portuguese, then heavily fortified by the Dutch in the 17th century from 1649 onwards. It is a historical, archaeological and historical monument, which even after more than 432 years still has a beautiful appearance, due to the extensive restoration work done by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.

The fort has a colorful history, and today it has a large population and many religions. world. The importance of the heritage of the tower is recognized by UNESCO and the place is listed as a cultural heritage UNESCO Heritage.

History

The beginning of the history of Galle can be found in Ptolemy's world map of 125-150 AD when it was very busy, trading with Greece, Arab countries, China and others. It is mentioned as a "city of the Levant" in the cosmography of Cosmas Indicopleustes. The port where the Portuguese, under the leadership of Lourenço de Almeida, made their first landing in 1505 on the island and caused a significant change in the development of the island and their close friendship with Dharmaparakrama Bahu (1484-1514), then the kings of the country. Before the Portuguese came here, Ibn Batuta touched down at this port. This is the beginning of the history of the fort, which was built by the Portuguese, together with a Franciscan church (which has been largely destroyed) inside the fort in 1541. The fort also, in later years , used to be a prison to incarcerate Sinhalese people. against the Portuguese. The Portuguese moved to Colombo from Galle as they liked the latter. However, in 1588, they were attacked by the Sinhalese King Raja Singha I (1581–93) of Sitawaka, which forced the Portuguese to return to Galle. In Galle, they first built a small fort out of coconuts and mud. They called it Santa Cruz, and later expanded it to a guard tower with three walls and a "castle" to guard the port.

In 1640, events took a turn and the Dutch entered the conflict joining hands with King Rajasinhe II to capture the Galle Fort. The Dutch, with a force of 2,500 men under Koster, captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1640 itself. Although it was not a good situation for the Sinhalese, but they were instrumental in the construction of the tower as seen in its current state in the Dutch architectural style. The fortifications were added in the early 18th century. The base had government buildings, warehouses and commercial buildings and residential areas. A Protestant church (designed by Abraham Anthonisz) was also built in the baroque style in 1775 to welcome the colonists and local people who converted to Christianity. The most prominent buildings in the fort are the Commandant's palace, the staff and the gun house. Other buildings were established in the fort for trade and defense purposes such as workshops for carpenters, blacksmiths, rope makers and others. They also built a special system of canals that flooded at high tide, taking the waste to the sea.

The British took the fort on 23 February 1796, one week after the capture of Colombo. Sri Lanka remained a British colony from 1815 until it became an independent island nation in 1948. Galle's importance also declined after the British established Colombo as their capital and main city in the middle of the 19th century.

After the fort came under British rule in 1796, it remained their southern headquarters. They made many changes to the fortress, such as closing the moat, building buildings, a light on the Utrecht Bastion, a gate between the Moon Bastion and the Sun Bastion. A tower was implanted in 1883 to commemorate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. The Second World War saw many other towers built to protect the tower. in spite of all the changes made over the years, since it was originally built between the 16th and 19th centuries.Geography

Galle Fort is located in Galle, which is located at the southwestern tip of the island, in the southwestern part of Sri Lanka, where the coast turns east towards Matara and Tagalle. The fort, like most forts in Sri Lanka, is built on a small rocky peninsula, as much about the sea as the land. As it stands today, it covers 52 hectares (130 acres).

Road A2 provides road connections to Galle from Colombo (a distance of 113 kilometers (70 mi)) and the rest of the country on the west coast or from the east to the south. Since 2012 a highway has connected Galle to Colombo. Train connections are also available to Colombo and Matara. The sea route goes through the Galle Port to the Galle Harbour.

Fortifications

The fort, originally built by the Portuguese in the 16th century to protect Galle, is an earthen structure with palisades covering the north inland with a wall and three bastions. They believed that the sea side was impregnable and therefore did not build any forts on the sea side, except for the Zwart Bastion.

When the fort came under Dutch rule, they thought that the old forts built by the Portuguese were unsafe because they were made of earth and palisades. Therefore, the Dutch decided to surround the entire peninsula by building impregnable forts as protection from other colonial offices in the region. They built 13 other mounds with corals and rocks on an area of ​​52 hectares (130 acres). Most of the walls were built in 1663. The sea wall was completed in 1729.

Gates

Galle Fort has two gates, formerly known as portcullis.[1] The first of the two was completed by the Dutch in 1669. At the time it was protected by a drawbridge and a canal. It can be found at the southern end of the Baladaksha Mawatha (path). Above the door was an emblem of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC, the Dutch East India Company): A relief with a rooster on a rock above a shield with the letters 'VOC', together and two lions. At the bottom is an inscription that reads 'ANNO MDCLXIX' (The Year 1669). When the British took over in 1796, they removed the VOC emblem inside the door and replaced it with a coat of arms of King George III, and placed a stone inscribed in 1668 with a small VOC emblem in its place. .

This British coat of arms shows an English lion and a Scottish unicorn holding a circular shield with four emblems of the various parts of the United Kingdom. The edge of the shield is decorated with a coat bearing the motto 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' (Shame on the evil thinker). Above the shield is the crown. Below a ribbon is the motto of the Britisch Sovereign: 'Dieu et mon droit' (God and my right). The center of the circular shield is occupied by the arms of the House of Hanover.

The new, Main Gate on the north side of the fort, between the Moon Bastion and the Sun Bastion, was opened in 1873. This gate was necessary when Galle became the administrative center of the south. of Ceylon.

Renewal

After the disaster in the Tsunami of 2004 when many buildings were destroyed, the Ministry of Culture launched a project for restoration and restoration, but paying close attention to the old structure to stop a historical feeling.

The Galle Fort has both Portuguese and Dutch buildings, reflecting the city's colonial past. These buildings needed to be looked after because of the many changes made over the centuries. The Government of Sri Lanka, through its Galle Heritage Foundation under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage has made efforts to restore some heritage buildings to their former glory. The restoration project is financially supported by the Government of the Netherlands. The renovation work is in line with the guidelines set by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. Special guidance provided by the Architectural Wing of the University of Moratuwa. Most of the old buildings of the town have been bought by foreigners and wealthy Sri Lankans and Indians and renovated as holiday homes.

The National Maritime Museum in the Galle Fort area, near the old gate, was established in 1997 as a Scientific Research Center with the active participation of the Government of the Netherlands in the project due to the study of the Galle Harbor including more than 21 stories. locations of shipwrecks and related items. In 2014 the Old Dutch Hospital after the restoration was reopened as a restaurant and shop.

Human condition

The city of Galle (population 112,252, on an area of ​​16.5 square kilometers (6.4 sq mi)) has developed around the fort. The history of the fortress is well illustrated by many signs and symbols, which provide information about each monument. More than half of the people living in the fortress are Moors, along with Sinhalese, Dutch, English, Portuguese and German. More information about the history of the fort can be found at the visitor center and at the Dutch period museum inside the Fort.

The fort is inhabited by many foreign artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets and is now a mixed bag of shops, hotels and restaurants.