Jaffna Fort (යාපනය බලකොටුව)

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Situated on the south side of the Jaffna peninsula at the water’s edge of the lagoon, the ancient Jaffna Fort is the second largest existing fort on the Island. Originally built by the Portuguese and re-built and expanded by the Dutch during the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries to facilitate trading activities of Sri Lanka’s northern region, it indicates not only Jaffna’s strategic importance to Europeans but its significance throughout Sri Lanka’s history.

In 1591, the renowned Portuguese General Andre Furtado de Mendonça conquered Jaffna, and in 1624, they began constructing the Jaffna Fort (Martyn, 1923). It was a sturdy square fort featuring four bastions (see map below).

After the Dutch captured Jaffna from the Portuguese in 1658, they demolished the square fort previously built by the Portuguese and constructed an inner pentagonal fortification. Over the next century, they expanded the structure by adding an outer circuit, making it one of the most advanced military forts of the Dutch during that era. The fort was finally completed in 1792. However, on September 28, 1795, it was surrendered to the British without a single shot being fired. The Dutch had relocated most of their troops to bolster Colombo’s defences, leaving the Jaffna garrison unable to defend the fort (Nelson, 1984).

The five-sided inner defence works consist of thick and high ramparts and bastions with a wide and deep moat around it. The layout resembles a geometrically regular pentagon which is defined by the ramparts with a bastion at each corner of the pentagon. Beyond these defence works is the star-shaped moat, the outline of which roughly follows the bastion and rampart walls.

The outer defence works include the glacis, the ravelins, and a covered way. Unlike the Dutch forts at Galle and Colombo, which were fortified towns, the Jaffna Fort had an almost exclusively military and administrative function. The fort is the only surviving example in Sri Lanka, where its inner defences have a geometrically regular pentagonal layout. Moreover, this is the only example on the Island, where outer fortifications consisting of glacis, ravelins, and covered ways are to be seen.

Nelson in his book titled ‘Dutch Forts in Sri Lanka (1984) goes on to declare that

‘it was, as a technical fort, ………….everything was done to the latest design at each successive stage…….final result was the strongest fortress in the East, the perfect defensive design in the days of powerful and destructive solid shot artillery of limited effective range. In Britain, fully comparable places are to be found only at the towns of Berwick , at Fort George neat Inverness, at the citadel of Plymouth at Tilbury Fort on the Thames approaches to London…………. There are many fine artillery fortifications from the same period around the Indian Ocean. Yet it is doubtful whether in it’s technically perfection and its completeness, Jaffna can be surpassed’.

Within the fort are important buildings, including a church built in 1706, which was one of the most impressive in the northern region. Though simple in design, its well-proportioned structure and tall gable facades made it a striking feature of the town, dominating the landscape with its height and effective architectural form.

Jaffna Fort with such heritage values of national and international significance was in a perfect state of preservation until the country’s civil war that erupted in the mid 1980’s. The fortifications and buildings within it were severely damaged due to artillery fire. The Church is now reduced to a heap of rubble.

Map of the Jaffna Fort drawn in 1635 from the Plantas das fortalezas da India, de Portugal. Tomo II [Manuscrito] (manuscript of Plants of the fortresses of India, of Portugal. Volume II) by António Bocarro, and João Teixeira Albernaz from the digital archives of the National Library of Spain

A plan of the Jaffna Fort and the surrounding streets, Sri Lanka drawn in 1665 - From the national archives of Netherlands — A plan of the Jaffna Fort and the surrounding streets, Sri Lanka drawn in 1665 – From the national archives of the Netherlands

Jaffna Fort of the Portuguese in 1672
source: A True and Exact Description of the Most Celebrated East-India Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel and Also of the Isle of Ceylon

A plan of the Jaffna Fort, Sri Lanka drawn in 1693 - From the national archives of Netherlands — A plan of the Jaffna Fort, Sri Lanka drawn in 1693 – From the national archives of the Netherlands

Jaffna Fort - Map of the Jaffna Fort — Map of the Jaffna Fort

Jaffna Fort - The entrance of the Fort from inside

References

Baldaeus, P. (1703). A True and Exact Description of the Most Celebrated East-India Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel and Also of the Isle of Ceylon: Vol. III–III (1st ed.). A. and J. Churchill. (Original work published 1672)
Nelson, W. A. (1984). The Dutch forts of Sri Lanka: The military monuments of Ceylon. Canongate Publishing Limited.
Martyn, J. H. (1923). Martyn’s Notes on Jaffna : Chronological, Historical, Biographical (1st ed.). American Ceylon Mission Press.

Also See

Map of Jaffna Fort

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Traveling Directions to Jaffna Fort

Jaffna can be reached through 2 directions. The first one is over the Elephant Pass which is the normal route to Jaffna. The other entrance is from Pooneryn over the newly built Sangupiddi Bridge. This road connects to Mannar.

Route 01 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Kurunegala)	Route 02 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Puttalam)
Through : Kurunegala – Dambulla – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance: 400 km Travel Time: 7-8 hours Driving Directions: see on Google map	Through: Puttalam – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance: 400 km Travel Time: 7-8 hours Driving Directions: see on Google maps

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References

Also See

Map of Jaffna Fort

Traveling Directions to Jaffna Fort

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