Galle Fort Dutch Belfry

Galle Fort Dutch Belfry (Photo credit: Google Street View)

A Dutch Bell Tower (Sinhala: ගාලු කොටුව ඕලන්ද ඝණ්ඨාර කුළුණ) is located within the ancient Galle Fort, Sri Lanka. 

Evidence is there to show that the bell tower was built in 1701 during the Dutch Period [(1658-1796 A.D.) Abeyawardana, 2004; Ranchagoda, 2015]. It is said that this was the belfry of the old church that had been established in the present old store building before the construction of the Dutch Reformed Church (Ranchagoda, 2015). The tower is depicted in Johann Wolfgang Heydt's (1716-1777 A.D.) painting titled "View of the courtyard of the castle of Punto Gale (1737)".

The tower has been used to indicate the time, special occasions and emergency situations (Ranchagoda, 2015).

#) Bambalapitiya Bell Tower

#) Kayman's Gate Bell Tower

1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Ruhuna: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-575-073-4. p.21. 

2) Ranchagoda, T. O., 2015. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Galla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. ISBN:955-9159-53-4. p.51.

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This page was last updated on 5 November 2022