The Portuguese first landed in Sri Lanka in 1505 through the Galle Port. Later the Portuguese army came through Arandara and Ruwanwella and captured Ratnapura. During the Portuguese occupation of Ratnapura, they demolished the ancient Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya and the Temple and built a Fort and a church called St. Salvador on this place. Later King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe of Kandyan Kingdom re-captured the Ratnapura, destroyed the church and the Ratnapura fort and built a temple on the site (Maha Saman Devalaya) on the site.
The Dutch Landed in Sri Lanka in 1655 and took over all the areas controlled by the Portuguese by 1658. The Dutch initially used the Fort Built by the Portuguese but later built a new fort on a hillock in the middle of Ratnapura Town. It is said that the design of this fort was similar to the Kalutara Fort with two Bastions. The fort was able to house 40 soldiers and provisions.
The fort was also used by the Dutch to house the administrative offices and storage for goods which were to be transported to ships. The fort housed the governor’s office and residence, a court building, a hospital, a chapel and housing for other officials in addition to the barracks of the soldiers. The goods collected from the region were collected at the fort and then carried in boats on the Kalu Ganga River to Kalurara.
The highest point on this hillock is called Balum Gala (watch rock). It is said that this point was used as a watch tower during this time.
This Fort and 10 buildings have been gazetted as archaeological monuments in 2002 and 2005. A 400-meter area around this fort was gazetted as a protective buffer zone in 2005. Unfortunately, this has been ignored by the regional government officials and parts of the protected buildings have been demolished and renovated without any consideration of the archaeological value.
Currently, the oldest building inside the fort is the Police Station which was started on 1st January 1864. The buildings inside the fort were used as the Kachcheri since 1817.
Also See
- Forts and Fortifications of Sri Lanka
- Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of the fort at Dutch Fort at Ratnapura
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Driving Directions to Dutch Fort at Ratnapura
Route I from Colombo to Dutch Fort at Ratnapura | Route II from Colombo to Dutch Fort at Ratnapura |
Through : Homagama – Bandaragama – Horana – Ratnapura Distance :93 km Travel time : 2.5 hours Driving directions : see on google map | Through :Awissawella Distance :92 km Travel time : 2.5 hours Driving directions : see on google map |
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