Galle Fort is set on 96 acres or 39 hectares. Its compact size makes it a perfect location to meander along streets packed with eco friendly clothing, homewares and historic artefacts. Jewellers, cafes, restaurants, day spas coexist with local eateries, the Galle Law Courts and the lawyers and administration service who support them. Historic churches and graveyards, the Maritime Museum and banks operate along the cobbled streets.
Dutch colonial building’s foundations stand strong upon the Portuguese fort that pre dates the existing structures from their arrival in 1505. Initially drawn to Galle’s naturally formed harbor they were more concerned with land based attacks from the likes of King Seethawaka Mayadunna and Seethawaka Rajasinghe, rather than from the ocean. By 1620 the construction of three bastions secured the Fort from land based attacks.
Under Dutch Colonial rule from 1640, fortifications were increased with the building of a total of 8 bastions, the Aelus, Clippenberg, Triton, Flagrock, Point Utrecht, Aurora, Akersloot and the Zwart Bastion (Black Fort, which became known as Fortaleza). Five of the bastions faced oceanward, protecting the Fort from a naval attack.
British Colonial rule commenced in 1795 and ended in 1948. The British strengthened treaties with Sri Lankan kings and indigenous leaders and additional fortifications of the Fort allowed Sri Lanka to prosper in relative harmony.
Today schoolchildren study, lawyers talk and tourists enjoy dozens of different cuisines from around the world. Repurposed buildings house some of the most exquisite colonial architecture in Sri Lanka. The Fort’s historical significance is world renown, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
No visit to the Well House is complete without a day in the Fort. Shopping, eating, exploring tiny laneways and enjoying dinner or drinks on the ramparts taking in a sunset over the Indian Ocean. Even in medieval times, Sri Lanka was an important meeting and trading hub, particularly for merchants from China, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and even South India. When a Well House guest joins the queue and story of historical Galle, the Fort becomes both the introduction and the conclusion to personal story, inscribed in the cobble stones of the sun-drenched south.
