| Kalutara fort | |
|---|---|
| Kalutara,Sri Lanka | |
 1672 Dutch engraving of Fort Caletvre | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Defencefort |
| Condition | Destroyed |
| Location | |
  Kalutara fort Sri Lanka | |
| Coordinates | 6°35′13″N79°57′37″E / 6.587070°N 79.960175°E /6.587070; 79.960175 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1622 |
| Built by | Portuguese andDutch |
Kalutara fort (Sinhala:කලුතර බලකොටුවKaluthara Balakotuwa;Tamil:களுத்துறைக் கோட்டை,romanized: Kaḷuttuṟaik Kōṭṭai) was built by thePortuguese in 1622.[1] It was located inKalutara,Sri Lanka.
In 1574, Portuguese forces, commanded byDiogo de Melo de Castro, devastated the area south of Colombo destroying numerous shrines and temple. In late 1594 Portuguese forces, led byJerónimo de Azevedo, captured the town of Kalutara. In 1622 the Portuguese and built a fort on the site of the destroyed Gangathilaka temple.[2][3] The fort was constructed under the supervision ofJorge de Albuquerque.[4] It was subsequently captured by KingRajasinghe I of theSitawaka kingdom. Then still later it was captured by the Dutch and re-captured by the Portuguese.
On 15 October 1655 following a siege by Dutch forces, led by Gerard Hulft, the Portuguese commander of the fort, Anthonio Mendes de Aranha, surrendered the fort and garrison of 255 men, without a shot being fired.[5][6] In 1677 the Dutch fortified it by constructing two additional bastions, increasing the size of theramparts, digging a moat and erecting a drawbridge.[5] It is reported that the Dutch Governor brought over architects from Netherlands especially to rebuild this fort. Most of the building material was sourced locally however it is reported that certain types of rocks were brought from the Netherlands.[7] In February 1769, it was surrendered to theBritish, and was used for garrison and residence of theGovernment Agent.[3][7] The building was also used as a country retreat by theColonial Secretary of Ceylon,John Rodney, who buried an infant son there.[8]
There is no remains of the fort due to the construction ofKalutara Vihara on the site.[3][7]
| Ancient Forts | _fort.jpg)  | |
|---|---|---|
| Colonial Forts | ||
Less or no contribution/renovation works of Dutch are marked by† symbol under "Portuguese Forts", and others are considered as Dutch forts too. | ||
