Walisinghe Harischandra Museum & Cultural Centre (Photo credit: Google Street View)
The Walisinghe Harischandra Museum & Cultural Center (Sinhala: වලිසිංහ හරිශ්චන්ද්ර කෞතුකාගාරය සහ සංස්කෘතික මධ්යස්ථානය) is situated in Negombo in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to Walisinghe Harischandra (1876-1913), a social reformer, historian, author and revivalist of Sri Lankan Buddhism.
The museum was established in 1996 to commemorate the service performed by Harischandra for the country (Rambukwella, 2014). It was initially managed by the Department of National Museums and was handed over to the Department of Cultural Activities, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in 2001 (Rambukwella, 2014).
The museum has been established in his house to exhibit furniture, books and diaries used by Harischandra (Rambukwella, 2014). The ownership of this house was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs on 13 September 1996 on the occasion of his 83rd commemoration. Presently, the house provides services to the people living in the area such as an education centre and a library.
References
1) Rambukwella, M.W.C.N.K., 2014. Heritage representation in culturally
diverse societies: a case study of the Colombo National Museum in Sri
Lanka (Doctoral dissertation, School of Museum Studies). p.423.
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This page was last updated on 27 August 2022
