Galle Fort 1

Gate

  The historic Galle Fort has been the centre of attention any visitor to Galle for centuries Built bythedutch,beginning around 1663, the 36-ha walled Fort is now a UNESCO World Heritage site,and one of the few which has a thriving,vibrant, present-day buzz. In 1505, a Portuguese fleet bound for the Maldives was blown of course and took refuge in the natural harbour at Galle. Almost a sentury later, around 1589, they be gan building a small Fort here, and named it Santa Cruz. But this was destroyed when the Dutch took over in 1640. Galle was a major commercial port during the Dutch reign, and the fort provided the hub for trade government and sociallife.



 Sections of the Fort have now become 'boutique' areas, with boutique hotels and stores transform ing the quiet streets. Pedlar Street. in particular, has some lovely converted buildings which offer tantalising shopping experiences. As a living City. You will find shops, schools. mosques and temples, photoqraphic studios and the like scattered among the narrow streets.

 No matter how much you read about the Fort, there‘s nothing like experiencing it for yourself. In this article, we introduce you to seven special icons within the Galle Fort. and we invite you to wander about this city within a city, to discover its charm and its lively energy for your self.

                The Old Gate


  While many people prefer to enter through the Main Gate (also called City Gate, built by the British), the most stunning approach is definitely via the Old Fort Gate, built by the Dutch. It’s an impressive stone, brick and mortar gate, with a British coat of arms on the outside. On the inside, you find the letters

 VOC (for Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or Dutch East India Company) inscribed in stone, with the date 1669, flanked by two Lions
and with a Cock on top. On either side of this gate are the two Dutch Pakhuis or warehouses,
dated 1671-1676, still very much in use.

The Kachcheri building


  The present Kachcheri building was formerly a Dutch Hospital, and the street facing the building still remains Hospital Street.It features distinct Dutch architectural elements that make interesting study.Next door to the Kachcheri lies ‘Akersloot’ which became the Mester Attendant’s Bungalow during the British period, where a telescope and eight mounted guns stood in the garden facing the harbour. A fine breadfruit tree growing in the garden is said to be the first of its kind planted in the island by the Dutch who introduced the breadfruit to Sri Lanka



                                The Lighthouse

  As you travel down Hospital Street, you arrive at Utrecht Bastion upon which stands the ‘new,’ 18-metre Galle Lighthouse completed in 1940. The Galle lantern is 92 feet above low-water level and is visible for over 15 miles out. On dark nights the rays from the electric lantern can be seen over twice that distance.This lighthouse was built to replace the old British lighthouse which burnt down in 1936. on Rocky Bastion (also called Flag Rock) which is at the end of the next stretch of wall from the new lighthouse, the British lighthouse was the oldest in the island, and perhaps in all the East, before it was burnt down. Built in 1848, the two oil lanterns outlasted the guaranteed 80 years.

  In 1850, when the Colombo Observer inaugurated its ‘Pigeon Post from Galle to Colombo, the carrier pigeon were released from the top of the old lighthouse carrying news brought by the mail stearners from Europe and America.