Galle Fort - Sri Lanka

Galle Fort in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, 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 423 years maintains a polished appearance, due to extensive reconstruction work was done by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.

The fort has a colorful 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.

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 harbor 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 Battuta had touched base at this port. This was the beginning of the fort’s history, which was built by the Portuguese, along with a Franciscan chapel (now mostly in ruins) inside the fort in 1541. The fort also, in later years, served as a 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 watchtower and three bastions and a "fortalice" to guard the harbor.