Forts in Sri Lanka

Forts in Sri Lanka date back thousands of years, with many being built by Sri Lankan kings. These include several walled cities. With the outset of colonial rule in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was occupied by several major colonial empires that from time to time became the dominant power in the Indian Ocean. The colonists built several western-style forts, mostly in and around the coast of the island. The first to build colonial forts in Sri Lanka were the Portuguese; these forts were captured and later expanded by the Dutch. The British occupied these Dutch forts during the Napoleonic wars.

Most of the colonial forts were garrisoned up until the early 20th century. The coastal forts had coastal artillery manned by the Ceylon Garrison Artillery during the two world wars. Most of these were abandoned by the military but retained civil administrative officers, while others retained military garrisons, which were more administrative than operational. Some were reoccupied by military units with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War; Jaffna fort, for example, came under siege several times.

Anuradhapura period

Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
Vijithapura	5th Century BC Anuradhapura Kingdom		Central Province			Fortress City	^{[N 1]}^[1]
Sigiriya	5th Century by Kashyapa I	495 CE	Dambulla, Central Province	Ruined	Government of Sri Lanka	Citadel	^{[N 2]}
Mapagala fortress			Central Province				^{[N 3]}

Transitional period

Sitawaka forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
	Sitawaka fort			Avissawella, Western Province
	Hanwella Fort			Hanwella, Western Province	Destroyed		Defence	^[2]

Portuguese forts

Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
Colombo fort	1518, 1554	1524, 1870	Colombo fort, Western Province	Destroyed	-	Defence
Fort Fredrick	1624	-	Trincomalee, Eastern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 4]}
Batticaloa fort	1628		Batticaloa, Eastern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 5]}
Arandora fort			Narangoda, North Western Province	Destroyed	-	Defence	^{[N 6]}
Arippu fort			Arippu, Northern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 7]}
Delft Island fort			Neduntheevu, Northern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 8]}
Elephant Pass fort	1776		Elephant Pass, Northern Province	Destroyed	-	Defence	^{[N 9]}
Galle fort	1588	-	Galle, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 10]}
Haldummulla fort	1630		Haldummulla, Uva	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Fort Hammenheil	1618		Jaffna Peninsula, Northern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 11]}
Jaffna fort	1618		Jaffna, Northern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Star fort	^{[N 12]}
Kalutara fort	1655		Kalutara, Western Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Kayts Island fort	1629		Kayts, Northern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Kotugodella fort	1630		Ettampitiya, Uva Province	Ruins		Defence
Mannar fort	1560		Mannar, Northern Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Matara fort	1550		Matara, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 13]}
Menikkadawara fort	1599		Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Negombo fort	1672		Negombo, Western Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Pooneryn fort	16??		Pooneryn, Northern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Ratnapura fort	1618, 1620		Ratnapura, Sabaragamuwa Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Ruwanwella fort	1590s		Ruwanwella, Sabaragamuwa Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Hanwella fort	1597		Hanwella, Western Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence

Kandyan period

Kandyan forts

Name	Location	Condition	Type	Notes
Balana fort	Balana, Central Province	Ruined	Defence	^[3]
Hunnasgiriya Fort	Hunnasgiriya, Central Province	Ruined	Defence	^[4]
Welanhinna Ancient Fort	Diyatalawa, Uva Province	Destroyed		^[5]

Dutch forts

Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
Fort Hammenheil	1618	-	Jaffna Peninsula, Northern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Koddiyar fort	1622		Muttur, Eastern Province	Destroyed		Defence
Katuwana Fort	1646	-	Katuwana, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Kalpitiya fort	1667–76	-	Kalpitiya, North Western Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 14]}
Mullaitivu fort	1715		Mullaitivu, Northern Province	Ruins		Defence	^{[N 15]}
Star fort	1763–65	-	Matara, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Star fort
Fort Beschutter			Elephant Pass, Northern Province	Destroyed	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Fort Ostenburg			Trincomalee, Eastern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 16]}
Fort Pyl			Elephant Pass, Northern Province	Ruins	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence
Point Pedro fort			Point Pedro, Northern Province	Destroyed		Defence	^{[N 17]}
Tangalle fort			Tangalle, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence	^{[N 18]}

British forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
	Martello tower	1801-03		Hambantota, Southern Province	Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence tower
	Fort MacDowall	1803		Matale Central Province				^{[N 19]}

Notes

^ It was the site of a major battle between the forces of Ellalan and Dutthagamani
^ Royal Palace. Briefly used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy in the 16th and 17th centuries.
^ Located to the south of Sigiriya is the Mapagala Fortress (‘Rock of the Viceroy’), a fortress with massive stone walls, which was built prior to Sigiriya.
^ Later controlled by the Dutch and then the British
^ Captured by the Dutch in 1638
^ Captured by the Dutch in 1665
^ Handed over to the Dutch in 1658
^ Later controlled by the Dutch
^ Later controlled by the Dutch
^ Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch from 1640
^ Rebuilt by the Dutch in 1680
^ Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1658
^ Rebuilt by the Dutch after 1640
^ In 1795 the fort was surrendered to the British
^ Rebuilt by British during their occupation of the country in 1795
^ Later surrendered to the British 1795
^ Later surrendered to the British 1795
^ The fort is still being used as a prison by the Department of Prisons.
^ Outpost during the Kandyan Wars

References

^ Senaveratna, John M. (1997). The story of the Sinhalese from the most ancient times up to the end of "the Mahavansa" or Great dynasty: Vijaya to Maha Sena, B.C. 543 to A.D.302. Asian Educational Services. pp. 125–128. ISBN 978-81-206-1271-6.
^ "Hanwella Fort". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
^ "Balana". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
^ "Medamahanuwara Hunnasgiriya Kanda". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
^ "Welanhinna". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

External links

[1] It was the site of a major battle between the forces of Ellalan and Dutthagamani

[3] Royal Palace. Briefly used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy in the 16th and 17th centuries.

[4] Located to the south of Sigiriya is the Mapagala Fortress (‘Rock of the Viceroy’), a fortress with massive stone walls, which was built prior to Sigiriya.

[6] Later controlled by the Dutch and then the British

[7] Captured by the Dutch in 1638

[8] Captured by the Dutch in 1665

[9] Handed over to the Dutch in 1658

[10] Later controlled by the Dutch

[11] Later controlled by the Dutch

[12] Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch from 1640

[13] Rebuilt by the Dutch in 1680

[14] Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1658

[15] Rebuilt by the Dutch after 1640

[19] In 1795 the fort was surrendered to the British

[20] Rebuilt by British during their occupation of the country in 1795

[21] Later surrendered to the British 1795

[22] Later surrendered to the British 1795

[23] The fort is still being used as a prison by the Department of Prisons.

[24] Outpost during the Kandyan Wars

[2] Senaveratna, John M. (1997). The story of the Sinhalese from the most ancient times up to the end of "the Mahavansa" or Great dynasty: Vijaya to Maha Sena, B.C. 543 to A.D.302. Asian Educational Services. pp. 125–128. ISBN 978-81-206-1271-6.

[5] "Hanwella Fort". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

[16] "Balana". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

[17] "Medamahanuwara Hunnasgiriya Kanda". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

[18] "Welanhinna". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

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