Dutch Fort at Batticaloa

Dutch Fort at Batticaloa

Attribution:

World Monuments Fund

BATTICALOA

SRI LANKA

Key Dates

A Buddhist stupa and shatra from the Ruhuna Kingdom date back to the 1st Century BC.

The Dutch developed a fort there in 1628.

It was damaged in the 2004 tsunami.

The Fort of Batticaloa is on a small island on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 69 miles south by south east of Trincomalee. Its local name is Mada Kalapuwa, which means "muddy lagoon" in Sinhala, after the inland lagoon over which it looks. Although the site gets its name from a Dutch settlement built there in 1628, it has important ancient religious significance because of a Buddhist stupa and a a dagaba and Chatra from the Ruhuna kingdom of King Kavantissa.

The City of Batticaloa has had a violent recent history. Claimed by the Tamil separatist guerilla group, the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) as part of their homeland, it has been the scene of conflict, murder, and kidnapping. In 2004, it was one of the towns hit worst by the December 26 tsunami. It is now listed on the World Monuments Fund 2010's Monuments Watch List.