Galle Fort, Portuguese-Dutch fortress in Galle, Sri Lanka
Galle Fort is a large coastal fortification on a peninsula in southern Sri Lanka, covering about 130 acres and protected by massive granite bastions facing the sea. The complex includes fully intact walls, several watchtowers, two main gates, and a network of streets with colonial-era residential and administrative buildings that remain inhabited and in use today.
Portuguese sailors built a first fortification on the peninsula in 1588 to secure spice trade along the coast. The Dutch captured the site in 1640 and transformed it over several decades into one of the strongest trading strongholds in the Indian Ocean, before the British took control in 1796.
The fortress takes its name from a Sinhala word meaning rock, referring to the natural peninsula that shelters the harbor. Inside the walls, Dutch-style townhouses stand alongside Buddhist temples and mosques, while shopkeepers run businesses in colonial buildings and residents walk through narrow lanes.
Visitors can walk along the fortress walls and enjoy views over the sea and surrounding town, especially in the early morning or late afternoon when the light is softer. The streets inside the walls are mostly flat and easy to explore on foot, with some stairs leading up to bastions and towers.
The main bastion is named after a star and displays the 17th-century Dutch coat of arms on its exterior, which has remained in its original position to this day. Inside the fort stands a lighthouse from the British colonial period that continues to guide shipping along the southern coast.
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