Ruwanwella fort

Ruwanwella fort
Kegalle, Sri Lanka
Ruwanwella fort is located in Sri Lanka
Ruwanwella fort
Ruwanwella fort
Coordinates7°02′46″N 80°15′15″E / 7.045984°N 80.254049°E / 7.045984; 80.254049
TypeDefence fort
Site information
Controlled byGovernment of Sri Lanka
Conditiongood
Site history
Built1817
Built byBritish

Ruwanwella fort (Sinhala: රුවන්වැල්ල බලකොටුව Ruwanwælla Balakotuwa; Tamil: உருவான்வெல்லைக் கோட்டை, romanized: Uruvāṉvellaik Kōṭṭai), was initially a fortified base camp erected by the Portuguese in 1590s at Ruwanwella, Kegalle, Sri Lanka.[1][2] It was captured by Dutch in 1665, who constructed a wooden fort (Ruanelle)[3] but abandoned it within a few years.[4] In 1817 the British built a stone fort on the site with two bastions.[5]

1690 Map of Fort Ruanelle (top right corner)

Ruwanwella fort is currently being used as a police station.[6]

  1. ^ Valentijn, François; Arasaratnam, Sinnappah (1978). François Valentijn's Description of Ceylon. Hakluyt Society. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-904180-06-0.
  2. ^ Abeyasinghe, Tikiri (1966). Portuguese Rule in Ceylon, 1594–1612. Lake House Investments. p. 28.
  3. ^ "Ruwanwella". Atlas of Mutual Heritage. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Forte de Ruwanwella". Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  5. ^ Fernando, Kishanie S. (29 August 2005). "Fort of Ruwanwella – A Historic Fort and a Wayside Ambalama". The Daily Mirror.
  6. ^ "Ruwanwella: Colourful history of battles and diplomacy". The Sunday Times. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2014.