Galle

galle fort

Galle Fort is situated on a square peninsula on the south coast of the island. Occupied first by the Portuguese then the Dutch, who built the first fortified ramparts, and where the Dutch heritage is still evident in the street plan, the churches and the many examples of Dutch houses, typically built around a courtyard with a veranda on the street. It was ceded to the British in 1796 who enlarged and strengthened the ramparts, built the clock tower, which stands sentinel over the new gateway, and the modern lighthouse. Although in recent years it has increasingly become a tourist attraction, due to its World Heritage Site status, and its consequent increase in the number of restaurants, gift shops and boutique hotels, it is still essentially a working town with Muslims, engaged in the jewelry trade and the provision of guest houses, being the majority of the population. The Heritage Cafe, formally Universal Bakers, contains the oldest Dutch bread oven on the island.