Dutch Reformed Church, Matara
The Dutch Reformed Church (Sinhala: ලන්දේසි රෙපරමාදු පල්ලිය, මාතර) situated within the Matara Fort premises is one of the earliest Dutch churches in Sri Lanka. History
According to the inscription over the entrance, this church has been renovated in 1767 while Daniel Burnat was Dessave (Lewis, 1913). The tombstones that have been paved on the floor of the church contain dates earlier than 1767, indicating that this church was in existence there even before 1767 (Abeyawardana, 2004). The oldest of the gravestones contain the date 25 December 1686 (Lewis, 1913). Tombstones
The plaques found on the church floor are the tombstones of the dead Dutch, British, and Sri Lankan people (Abeyawardana, 2004; Lewis, 1913). These plaques were originally set in the cemetery of the church but later brought to here and paved on the floor (Wikramaratne, 2015). The building
The Dutch church is a plain building sheltered beneath a gabled roof (Lewis, 1913). The building has round-headed windows on each si…
