Dutch Fort of Kalpitiya
Kalpitiya, that was called Calpenteyn or Calpetty by the Dutch, is a narrow
land tongue that stretches to the north for about 50 kilometres beyond Puttlam,
parallel to the mainland. At the extreme tip is the Kalpitiya Fort, which,
after a long time of neglect in which it slowly deteriorated, is now a Sri
Lankan Navy base. It's not very far from here that the guerrilla war between
the Government and the Tamil Tiger terrorists is being fought and sometimes
the Tigers make forays in small boats packed with explosives for suicide
attacks on Navy patrol boats. One is not allowed to go inside the fort or
take pictures of the main gate. It's a small fort that looks to be in good
condition. It was built in 1667, on the spot where the Portuguese had a stockade
and a Jesuit chapel. The walls are about 4 meters high and inside are the
remnants of the chapel, a commander's house, barrack rooms, a prison and
several go downs.
In between the village and the fort is an old unused church in a state
of disrepair with a small cemetery. Inside it's quite empty. The only object
in it is the heavy stone font. A few inscribed gravestones in the floor tell
the stories of the dead. A girl born in Jaffna who married the Commander
of Kalpitiya died at 15 years. The building seems to have been renovated
around 1840, when a semi-circular porch with brick and plaster pillars with
Corinthian capitals was added, as well as three spires on its front gable.
The roof of the porch has since collapsed. The belfry is original and is
similar to the ones found in Galle and Colombo. Around the turn of the century
the bell from the belfry, along with all the furniture from the church, was
removed to an Anglican church in Puttlam
This place is now as out of the way a backwater as any in Sri Lanka, let
alone in the world. In the time services were held in the church and the
fort was manned by Dutch soldiers, it was probably a livelier place, with
the regional trade carried out by 'the Moors', or Muslims, who traversed
the coastal waters in small boats called dhoneys, though the Dutch often
tried to restrict that. To them the main value of this outpost was strategic.
There is no suitable harbour and there have never been many people in this
area. Across the water on the mainland, which is visible in the distance,
is only the forest of what is now the Wilpattu National Park. The Company
had occupied Kalpitiya mainly in the interest of suffocating Rajasingha,
because from Kalpitiya it could control the King's trade between Ceylon and
India. It commands the entrance to the harbour of Puttlam. It could also
more easily enforce the monopoly on cinnamon from here and from Mannar, a
little way to the north. It seized all vessels that the English sent to Ceylon
from their factories in India.
Still there were, and are, many coconut plantations on Kalpitiya, and the
estuary is full of fish which was salted and dried. The produce was transported
by local boats along the estuary to Puttlam, and from there by a canal via
Negombo to Colombo.
Half way the Kalpitiya peninsula is the statue of St. Anne that can work
miracles. From the mid-nineteenth century it started to draw large crowds
of Sri Lankans of all religions on the festival of St. Anne on july 26. Today
it's a large complex with parking for busses and housing for the pilgrims
who usually stay several days.
Source :
www.wesrilanka.net/kalpitiya_fort.html
Driving Directions to Kalpitiya Dutch Fort
Route from Colombo
|
|
distance :170 km
Travel time : 2.5 hours
Driving directions :
see on google map
|
See also
Map
Created : January 26, 2010
Updated :
April 24, 2011
|
