The Bogoda Wooden Bridge was built in the 16th century during the

Dambadeniya Dambadeniya ''(DMBD)'' is a ruined ancient city situated in the North Western Province (Wayamba), Sri Lanka on the Kurunegala–Negombo main road. It served as the capital of Sri Lanka in the mid 13th century. Much of Dambadeniya still lies burie ...

era. This is said to be the oldest surviving

wooden bridge A timber bridge or wooden bridge is a bridge that uses timber or wood as its principal structural material. One of the first forms of bridge, those of timber have been used since ancient times. History The most ancient form of timber bridge is ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The bridge is situated at west of

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

. All parts of this bridge were constructed from wood, including the use of wooden nails as fixing material. The roof tiles show the influence of

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

. The bridge was built across the Gallanda Oya, which linked

and

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

on an ancient route. Bogoda wooden bridge 1

Description

The Bogoda bridge is over 400 years old and made entirely from wooden planks, which are said to have come from one tree. It is an exclusive construction as it has an tall tiled roof structure for its entire span of nearly length with a breadth. Wooden fences of the bridge are decorated in various ancient designs and have been erected on either sides. The structure of the bridge is standing on a huge tree trunk in height.

Jack fruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

(''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') logs and Kumbuk (''

Terminalia arjuna ''Terminalia arjuna'' is a tree of the genus '' Terminalia''. It is commonly known as arjuna or arjun tree in English. Description ''T. arjuna'' grows to about 20–25 metres tall; usually has a buttressed trunk, and forms a wide canopy at the ...

'') logs were mainly used as the constructive material of the bridge. Furthermore, Kaluwara (''

Diospyros ebenum ''Diospyros ebenum'', or Ceylon ebony ( si, කළුවර ''Kaluwara''), is a species of tree in the genus Diospyros and the family Ebenaceae. The tree produces valuable black wood. Description This middle-high evergreen tree grows very sl ...

'') timber and Milla timber were used for the wooden decorations. Bogoda wooden bridge - side view

Bogoda Temple

The Bogoda Buddhist temple is an ancient temple situated beside the Bogoda Wooden Bridge. The temple has a much longer history than the bridge. It is from the 1st century BC, during the period of the

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

era. The temple was built per the instructions of King

Valagamba Valagamba (Sinhala: වළගම්බා), also known as Wattagamani Abhaya and Valagambahu, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Five months after becoming king, he was overthrown by a rebellion and an invasion from South India, b ...

. The stone inscription by the temple, in

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

scripture, says the temple was donated to a priest called Brahmadatta by Tissa, a provincial leader in Badulla. Inside of the temple were elaborate lovely paintings, bearing resemblance to the Kandyan era. The walls were built with a paste made of

cotton wool Cotton wool consists of silky fibers taken from cotton plants in their raw state. Impurities, such as seeds, are removed and the cotton is then bleached using hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite and sterilized. It is also a refined product ( ...

, bee honey and extracted and purified white clay. The paintings were painted on this walls. On 27 May 2011

Sri Lanka Post The Department of Posts, functioning under the brand name Sri Lanka Post ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා තැපැල් ''Shri Lanka Tæpæl''), is a government operated postal system in Sri Lanka. The postal headquarters is the Gene ...

issued a

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

15 stamp with a photograph of the bridge, as part of a set of stamps commemorating bridges and culverts in Sri Lanka.

References

External links

Bogoda Roofed Bridge
{{Kandyan period topics Archaeological protected monuments in Badulla District Bridges in Badulla District Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Sri Lanka Kingdom of Kandy Tourist attractions in Badulla District Wooden bridges