Negombo Dutch Fort — Attraction in Western Province

The Portuguese fort that stood where the current Negombo Fort is situated was mostly destroyed by cannon during the Dutch siege in 1644. The Dutch fort was built on its ruins, not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks. The fifth one was never built. Negombo is home to the largest community of Catholics in Sri Lanka, a legacy of the Portuguese, who industriously spread Catholicism all along the west coast. Portuguese surnames abound here, though the people do not descend from the Portuguese. Their ancestors adopted a Portuguese name when they had been baptised. In the Dutch time Negombo was important because the highest quality cinnamon grew in this area, but with the disappearance of the cinnamon trade it lost its importance.

Negombo itself is an ugly town. Beauty is to be found on the beaches and around the lagoons, where colourful fishing boats lie on blue water against a backdrop of palm trees.

The fort was located on a narrow strip of land between a lagoon and an inlet of the sea. It was surrounded by moats, and the gate was accessed via a drawbridge. Facing it on the landside was a town with the familiar rectangular pattern of streets which was itself protected by earth walls. The area to the west was regularly flooded by the sea, changing the land on which the fort stood into a peninsula. Governor Rumpf described the fort as a ‘fine defensible structure’ when he visited it in 1720, but the painter Heydt, who painted it in 1744, was less enthusiastic and felt that it could have been built ‘somewhat more durably’. Governor Rumpf visited the Negombo Fort to view the improvements that had been recently made to it. The walls had been topped up, new watch towers had been built on the bastions, a big bell tower had been built above the gate, and a wooden palisade had been put up. The Fort in its new splendour is shown in this water colour from 1720.

Today only ruins are left. The Fort was demolished in the late nineteenth century by the British, who used its stones to build a prison. The main remnant is an ambivalent mound and part of the eastern wall with the main gate that gives entrance to a tunnel that opens into what was once the courtyard. A clock tower behind it has been added at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Nearby on the beach is the fishing market of Negombo. The fish is brought ashore here and sold immediately while the sun beats down. Low coloured boats and fishing nets lie on the beach. Dirty crows and seagulls are everywhere. The old women who sell the fish are very poor and have very...

Negombo Fort (Sinhalese: මීගමුව බලකොටුව; Tamil: நீர்கொழும்புக் கோட்டை) was a small but important fort in Negombo, approx. 30 km (19 mi) north of Colombo, that was built by the Portuguese to defend Colombo.

1665 Map of Negombo fort In its time the fort at Negombo was probably the next in strategic importance after Colombo, Jaffna and Galle.[1] The original Portuguese fort was a weak structure, which was captured by Dutch forces commanded by Philip Lucasz, in February 1640.[1] The Portuguese made several attempts to retake it before they were successful in December 1640. They then strengthened the fortifications and managed to defend the fort until it was recaptured by the Dutch, commanded by Francois Caron, in January 1644.[1] The original bastions were destroyed by the Dutch cannons during the siege of the fort. The Dutch subsequently rebuilt it in 1672 however not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks, the fifth was never constructed (possibly due to the cost).[2] The fort was located on a narrow strip of land between a lagoon and an inlet of the sea. It was surrounded by a dry moat, and the gate was accessed via a drawbridge.

In February 1796 it was occupied by the British without opposition.[1] In the late 1800s the British authorities decided to demolish the fort and build a prison in its place, constructed from the stones of the fort.[1] Today all that remains is a section of the eastern rampart with mounds at its northern and Southern ends, where the previous bastions existed, and an recessed arched gateway. Above the gateway is a slab of granite, with the date 1678 inscribed, surmounted by a high decorative gable.[1] The site is still used as a prison by the Department of...

It was captured by Dutch forces commanded by Philip Lucasz, in February 1640.[1] The Portuguese made several attempts to retake it before they were successful in December 1643. They then strengthened the fortifications and managed to defend the fort until it was recaptured by the Dutch under the command of François Caron, in January 1644.

The original bastions were destroyed by the Dutch cannons during the siege of the fort. The Dutch subsequently rebuilt it in 1672 however not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks, the fifth was never constructed (possibly due to the cost).[3] The fort was located on a narrow strip of land between a lagoon and an inlet of the sea. It was surrounded by a dry moat, and the gate was accessed via a drawbridge.

In February 1796 it was occupied by the British without opposition.[1] In the late 1800s the British authorities decided to demolish the fort and build a prison in its place, constructed from the stones of the fort.[1] Today all that remains is a section of the eastern rampart with mounds at its northern and Southern ends, where the previous bastions existed, and a recessed arched gateway. Above the gateway is a slab of granite, with the date 1678 inscribed, surmounted by a high decorative gable.[1] The site is still used as a prison by the...