Kruys Church or Kruys Kerk is located within the

Jaffna fort Jaffna Fort ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணக் கோட்டை, translit=Yāḻppāṇak Kōṭṭai; si, යාපනය බලකොටුව ''Yapanaya Balakotuwa'') is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1618 under ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

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 ...

and is situated near the entrance to the fort. The church was built by the Dutch in 1706 and was one of the oldest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches in the country.

History

Kruys Kerk (Cross Church) constructed in the form of a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, in the south-eastern section of Jaffna fort. The church was erected in 1706, nearly half a century prior to the construction of 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. Hi ...

in Colombo and the Groote Kerk in Galle, during the administration of Adam van der Duyn, the Commandeur of Jaffnapatnam. The architect and builder was Martinus Leusekam, who is described as a Baas Landmeter (Chief Surveyor) and the resident

Predikant Predikant is a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. Predikant is the Afrikaans term for "pastor". The word 'predikant' is also used in the Dutch, West Frisian, Norwegian and Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or r ...

was Philippus de Vries. In September 1795 Jaffna fell to British forces. The church was then used as place of worship by the British garrison. The church gradually lost its congregation and in 1872 when the British began using their own church in the centre of Jaffna ( away), it was abandoned. When the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

occupied the fort during the Sri Lankan Civil War the church, along with a number of other key buildings, were demolished in an attempt to stop the Sri Lankan Army gaining control of the site. Currently only the remains of the walls remain. Fortunately a number of the historic tombstones were rescued and are currently housed at the church in

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

for safekeeping.

Architecture

The church was in the form of a Greek Cross, with arms of equal length and a wide central area. The walls were four to five feet thick, built out of rubble and coral stone, with a covering of cement. The pillars, arches and

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

s of the doorways were built with imported Dutch bricks. The floor was paved with stones in area, with a number of tombstones, dating from 1660, suggesting that they contained re-interred ashes or remains. The ends of the church's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s were gabled. The windows contained multiple panes and were heavily

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed. The church could accommodate up to 600 worshippers.

References

External links

* * * {{cite book , title=The Architecture of an Island - The Living Heritage of Sri Lanka , author1=Lewcock, Ronald , author2=Sansoni, Barbara , author2link=Barbara Sansoni, author3=Senanayake, Laki , author3link=Laki Senanayake, publisher=

Barefoot Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to ...

, date=2010 , isbn=9559466003 Churches in Jaffna Churches completed in 1706 Dutch Reformed churches in Sri Lanka 18th-century churches in Sri Lanka 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed churches