Sri Lanka

Galle

   The port town of Galle in the southwest of Sri Lanka has a splendid natural harbour. The port was in use in pre-Christian times, but gained in importance after the 12^th century. By the 14^th century it was arguably the most important port in the country, and it retained this preeminence until 1873 when an artificial harbour was built in Colombo. The great Chinese admiral Zheng He commemorated his visit by leaving a trilingual inscription in 1411; the three languages were Chinese, Tamil, and Arabic, implying a cosmopolitan trading community. The Portuguese arrived in 1505, and later built a small fort; but it was after Galle was captured by the Dutch in 1640 that the city rose to its greatest prosperity. The Dutch rebuilt the town and strengthened the fortifications.  

The English took over in 1796 but made few changes to the infrastructure, and it is Dutch architecture of the 17^th and 18^th centuries which gives the town its present character and charm. Among the Asian ports of the United Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, or VOC), Galle was second only to Batavia (now Jakarta). 

Galle harbour has an impressive number of heritage sites, some dating back well before the Dutch. Several stone anchors of Indo-Arabian pattern have been discovered, one weighing almost a ton (so implying a ship of some size), made of stone probably from Oman, and with a wooden anchor stock around five hundred years old. (The wooden stocks would have been regularly replaced, so the anchor itself may be older.) Another anchor has been found of Mediterranean pattern, similar to those used in Roman times. A celadon bowl of the Southern Song dynasty (C13th) is one of our few relics of the early trade with China; later blue-and-white Chinese tradeware is abundant. 

While Sri Lankan archaeology is rich in treasures from much earlier periods, it is the combination of several Dutch East India Company wrecks with the VOC’s extensive historical archives which makes Galle Harbour so interesting. The Dutch administrative records and maps are helping us to identify the shipwrecks and to understand the historical context.

Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle Fort is a world heritage site (declared by UNESCO in1988) and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European invaders. 

Galle is the main town in the most southerly part of the island, with a population of around 100,000, and is connected by rail to Colombo and Matara. It is home to a cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium, where test matches are played.

Rumassala Kanda is a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of the Ramayana.