Dedicated to St. Anthony, Waha Kotte is said to be the place where the crowning of the first Christian monarch of the country was taken place.
St. Anthony's Church (Wahakotte) St. Anthony's Shrine (Sinhala: වහකෝට්ටේ ශාන්ත අන්තෝනි දේවස්ථානය; Tamil: புனித அந்தோனியார் கோயில், வககோட்டை) is a Roman Catholic church situated in Wahakotte in Matale District, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to St. Anthony who is a catholic
saint born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal and died in Padua, Italy on 13 June
1231. Catholics celebrate his "feast" on this day. History Waha Kotte is thought to be evolved from "Wasala Kotte" which means "the Mansion in the Fort" (Abeyawardana, 2004). The history of this site is linked with the period of King Dutugemunu (161-137 B.C.) and it is said that there was a fort at that time (Abeyawardana, 2004). Wahakotte is said to be the place where the crowning of
the first Christian monarch of the country was taken place (Abeyawardana, 2004). During the 17th century, it served as a settlement of Portuguese Catholics who escaped from the religious persecution of the Dutch who were Protestant Christians (Abeyawardana, …
