Ratnapura Dutch fort, ( si, රත්නපුර ලන්දේසි බලකොටුව ''Rathnapura Landesi Balakotuwa''), was built by the

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 ...

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...

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

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

had originally constructed a fort at Ratnapura in 1620 however was later captured and destroyed by Kirti Sri Raja Singha (the second Nayaka

king of Kandy The Kandyan monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Kandy on the island of Sri Lanka from 1469 to 1815. The Kingdom was first established by Senasammata Vikramabahu, a royal from the Kingdom of Kotte, when he led the secession of the Kande uda pas rata (� ...

). By 1658 the Dutch had taken control over all the areas previously controlled by the Portuguese. The Dutch initially used the site of the Portuguese fort but subsequently built a new fort on a hill in the middle of the town. The design of the fort is similar to the fort at

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

, in that it had two

bastions A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

. The fort was large enough to accommodate the governor's office and residence, court building, hospital, chapel and barracks for 40 men. It was captured by the British in 1817. It was declared as an archaeological monument in 2002 and 2005. It was however partially demolished by the local government, who constructed a number of buildings on the site. The fort is currently being used as the offices for the National Gem and Jewellery Authority, together with a number of private offices. The site of the fort is now where the Police Station (established 1 January 1864), Public Library and the former

Kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

(established 1817) are now situated.

References

{{Forts in Sri Lanka British forts in Sri Lanka Dutch forts in Sri Lanka Forts in Sabaragamuwa Province Buildings and structures in Ratnapura District Archaeological protected monuments in Ratnapura District

See also

References