Kayman's Gate ( si, කයිමන් දොරකඩ, ''Kaiman Dorakada'') was an entrance to the former

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (; ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE operates. It is ...

located at the foot of the Wolvendaal Hill in the

Pettah Pettah may refer to: * Pettah of Ahmednagar, a fortified town outside the Fort of Ahmednagar stormed by British soldiers in 1803 during Second Anglo-Maratha War * Pettah, Colombo, a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east of the City centr ...

district of

Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo met ...

. A historic free-standing bell tower still stands at the site, now at the intersection of Main and 4th Cross Streets.

History

The second

was constructed by the Portuguese in 1554 as a fortification of their trading post at Colombo, and captured by the Dutch in 1656. Under the Portuguese, the fort's principal entrance at the eastern rampart was ''Porta Reinha'' ("Queen's Gate"), a large tunnel guarded by drawbridge and moat. "Kayman's Gate" comes from the Dutch word ''kaaiman'', crocodile. During that period,

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes, ...

s were found in large numbers in the

Beira Lake Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large ...

, and would congregate in the moat to eat rubbish thrown out by the city dwellers within the fort. The south-north canal linking Beira Lake to the sea via the moat was later named St. John’s River, and then, after being filled in during the British occupation, St John Street. ''Konings Straat'' (literally "King's Street"; originally the Portuguese ''Roa Directo'', and now Main Street), linked the old city of Pettah with the fort, and terminated at Kayman’s Gate. By 1870, the fort and its structures were almost completely demolished. Until the late 19th century, colonial rulers used the site of Kayman's Gate for public hangings. The Kayman's Gate bell purportedly dates back to the 16th century, where it originally hung in a Portuguese church dedicated to Saint Francis in the

Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

City of Kotte. Although Kotte was abandoned in 1565, the Dutch later reoccupied it and found a bell amidst the ruins of the church. This bell was relocated to a newly-constructed bell tower at Kayman’s Gate, where it was used as a curfew bell ‘to mark the closing of the Castle’s gates and lights out’. Following the demolition of the fort's walls, the bell was used to summon the worshippers to prayer and praise at the

Wolvendaal Church Wolvendaal Church (''Wolvendaalse Kerk'') is located in Pettah, a neighbourhood of Colombo. It is one of the most important Dutch Colonial era buildings in Sri Lanka, and is one of the oldest Protestant churches still in use in the country. H ...

, with the bell tower becoming part of the church's property. Kayman's Gate is referenced in the song ''Paru Palamen'', written by

Sunil Edirisinghe Patikirige Sunil Jayapreethi Edirisinghe ( Sinhala:සුනිල් එදිරිසිංහ; born 19 December 1949) is a Sri Lankan classical musician. Edirisinghe won the presidential award for playback singing in 1983 for "Maya Miringuva P ...

References

{{Coord, 6.938574, N, 79.853171, E, display=title Bell towers Buildings and structures in Colombo Tourist attractions in Colombo Archaeological protected monuments in Colombo District