Tangalle Fort ( si, තංගල්ල බලකොටුව, translit=Tangalla Balakotuwa; ta, தங்காலைக் கோட்டை, translit=Taṅkālaik Kōṭṭai) is a small

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

fort located in the coastal town of

Tangalle Tangalle ( Sinhala තංගල්ල , ta, தங்கல்லை) (also known as Tangalla) is a large town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is one of the largest towns in southern provinc ...

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 Dutch used Tangalle as an important anchorage on the southern coast of the island. Tangalle fort differs from most other forts constructed by the Dutch, in that the fort has no massive ramparts. The four main walls, which are high, enclose a space similar to a

rhombus In plane Euclidean geometry, a rhombus (plural rhombi or rhombuses) is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length. The ...

, in height, in opposite corners of the structure. The fort was significantly altered by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the middle of the 19th century when it was converted into a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. The British also used Tangalle as an anchorage. The fort is still being used as a prison by the

Department of Prisons The Department of Prisons ( Sinhala: බන්ධනාගාර දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ''Bandhanagara Departhamenthuwa'') is a department of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of ...

See also

References

Further reading