Galle Fort
Videos
Galle Fort, in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. It is
Aerial view of Galle Fort
Galle Fort ±1672
View down Church Street, 1737
The Old Gate to the Galle Fort
Siege of Galle (1640)
Videos
The Siege of the Portuguese fort Santa Cruz de Gale at Galle in 1640, took place during the Dutch–Portuguese and Sinhalese–Portuguese Wars. The Galle fort commanded 282 villages, which contained the m
Galle Fort
…1640 the Dutch entered the fray and joined with King Rajasinhe II to capture the Galle Fort. The Dutch, with a force of some 2,500 men under Koster, captured the fort from the Portuguese that year. Although not an ideal situation for the Sinhalese, they were instrumental in building the fort as seen in its present form in the Dutch architectural…
A Dutch painting depicting the siege
A 17th-century Dutch pinnace.
Rajasingha II, from Robert Knox's A Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon.
15th-century Portuguese painting depicting Ecce Homo.