Kalutara fort ( ''Kaluthara Balakotuwa''; ) was built by the Portuguese in 1622. It was located in

Kalutara Kalutara (, ) 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 of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. In 1574, Portuguese forces, commanded by Diogo de Melo de Castro, devastated the area south of Colombo destroying numerous shrines and temple. In late 1594 Portuguese forces, led by Jerónimo de Azevedo, captured the town of Kalutara. In 1622 the Portuguese and built a fort on the site of the destroyed Gangathilaka temple. The fort was constructed under the supervision of Jorge de Albuquerque. It was subsequently captured by King Rajasinghe I of the Sitawaka kingdom. Then still later it was captured by the Dutch and re-captured by the Portuguese. On 15 October 1655 following a siege by Dutch forces, led by Gerard Hulft, the Portuguese commander of the fort, Anthonio Mendes de Aranha, surrendered the fort and garrison of 255 men, without a shot being fired. In 1677 the Dutch fortified it by constructing two additional bastions, increasing the size of the ramparts, digging a moat and erecting a drawbridge. It is reported that the Dutch Governor brought over architects from Netherlands especially to rebuild this fort. Most of the building material was sourced locally however it is reported that certain types of rocks were brought from the Netherlands. In February 1769, it was surrendered to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and was used for garrison and residence of the Government Agent. The building was also used as a country retreat by the Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, John Rodney, who buried an infant son there. There is no remains of the fort due to the construction of

Kalutara Vihara The Kalutara Chaitya is a Stupa (buddhist shrine) located immediately south of the Kalutara Bridge in the Kalutara District of Sri Lanka. It is one of only a few hollow Buddhist stupas in the world and its interior contains 74 murals, each depict ...

on the site. Kalutara Fort

References

{{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire, state=collapsed British forts in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Kalutara Dutch forts in Sri Lanka Forts in Western Province, Sri Lanka Portuguese forts in Sri Lanka 1622 establishments in the Portuguese Empire