Ruwanwella fort

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.[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
Kegalle, Sri Lanka
Ruwanwella fort
Coordinates7.045984°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 is currently being used as a police station.[6]

References
  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.

Further reading
  • Nelson, W. A.; de Silva, Rajpal Kumar (2004). The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka – The Military Monuments of Ceylon. Sri Lanka Netherlands Association.
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