Saint Mary's Church, also known as Mahaweediya Palliya (lit: Grand street church), is an old church located in Negombo town in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka.
History
According to some historical accounts, a shrine named "Church of the Mother of God" had been erected on this site during the Portuguese period in Sri Lanka (1597–1658). That church was destroyed during the Dutch period (1658–1796) but built again on the same site by British rulers [(1815–1948) De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009].
Church
The church building shows architectural features related to the Roman style. The building is about 90 m long, 60 m wide and the height up to the top of the main dome is about 52 m. (De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009). The vaulted ceiling of the church is covered with nice paintings drawn by N. S. Godamanna (De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009).
Attribution
1) Negombo, Sri Lanka - panoramio (2) by Luděk Chmurovský is licensed under CC BY 3.0
References
1) De Silva, N.; Chandrasekara, D.P., 2009. Heritage Buildings of Sri Lanka. Colombo: The National Trust Sri Lanka, ISBN: 978-955-0093-01-4. p.120.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 30 April 2023
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