Avissawella (, ) is a township in

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, ...

, governed by an

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

, situated on the A4 route from

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Colombo District Colombo District ( ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a D ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

, approximately 40 km air distance and 48.1 km road distance from east of capital

. It is also known as Sitawakapura, the Old Capital of the Sitawaka Kingdom.

Overview

It is on the periphery of the

on its border with the

Sabaragamuwa Province The Sabaragamuwa Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, provinces of Sri Lanka. Ratnapura is the capital of the province. History The provinces of Sri Lanka were created by the British Empire, British in the 19th century, but ...

. This town has a rich and proud history in the annals of its military exploits against the Portuguese invaders as it was the capital of Sitawaka Kingdom from 1521 to 1593. Seethawaka was ruled by King Mayadunne and later his son Rajasinghe the First during this period. There is a lore that Rajasinghe was a parricide but some historians discount this as a story spread by jealousy. Avissawella is the junction from where the oldest land route to the Hill Country via

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, Lincolnshire, a village and civil parish * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Houn ...

and the road down South via

diverge. The Kelani Valley Railway line was originally built from Colombo to Yatiyanthota via Avissawella during 1900–1902. It was branched off at Avissawella and extended up to Opanayaka via Ratnapura (completed in 1912). Originally it was built as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge line to serve the rubber plantations in the area. The railway line between Avissawella and Yatiyanthota was removed in 1942, and the line from Homagama to Opanayaka abandoned in 1973. The railway services were restarted up to Avissawella in 1978 and is now a broad gauge line. Avissawella has few tourist attractions. Kumari waterfall (Kumari ella) is very famous since it is only few kilometers from the capital city. The town is governed by the Seethawakapura (formerly Avissawella) Urban Council. During the past, this area was known as Seethawaka and this name is used to identify a section of this town to this day. There are folklore which relate this name to "Seetha Devi" of Ramayanaya fame. Seethawaka legend has become richer because of these stories. Seethawaka river, a tributary of the Kelani river, flows in the outskirts of the city. The city is rapidly transforming into an industrial city with the establishment of the Seethawaka Export Promotion Zone (industrial zone) during late 1990s. After this Zone was established, the population of Avissawella increased rapidly due to migrant workers and resultant increase in residents. Ethnic composition in Hanwella DS Division(Which include Avissawella Urban council area) according to 2012 census data is as follows Sinhalese 100,328-88.16%,Tamils 12,332-10.84%,Muslims 852-0.75%,Others 295-0.26%.

References

Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka Grama Niladhari divisions of Sri Lanka {{WesternLK-geo-stub

Overview

See also

References