Galle Fort in Sri Lanka

2 min readJul 8, 2022

The Galle Fort, located in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, was first constructed by the Portuguese in 1588 and then completely reinforced by the Dutch beginning in 1649. It is a historical, archaeological, and architectural cultural monument that, although having stood for more than 432 years, still presents well thanks to considerable rebuilding work carried out by the Sri Lankan Archaeological Department.

The population of the fort is multi-ethnic and multi-religious today, and it has a rich past. The Sri Lankan government is looking into making this one of the modern wonders of the world, together with numerous Dutch people who still own some of the homes inside the fort. As a result of its distinctive display of “an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries,” the fort has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for its heritage value and has been listed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria iv.

The Boxing Day tsunami wrecked a portion of the coastal region of Galle town, however the Galle Fort, sometimes referred to as the Dutch Fort or the “Ramparts of Galle,” weathered the disaster. Since then, it has been repaired.