Galle Fort

Galle Fort is in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. It was initially built by Portuguese which was planned in 1524, but delayed until, 1584 and completed in 1588 as a small fort out of palm trees and mud. They called it the Santa Cruz, which was located in the area known as Black Fort today. The Dutch captured the Galle Fort in 1640 and developed extensively fortified from 1649 onwards and completed in 1684. It is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument, standing as the strongest and best-preserved fortress in the entire South and South East Asia even after 434 years of wear and tear. The Galle Fort covers an area of 52 hectares (130 acres) with 3 km of ramparts around it which became an archaeological reserve in 1971 in the county and UNESCO world heritage site in 1988.