The Kalpitiya peninsula north of Puttalam has been a very important military location since ancient times.
The Portuguese, Dutch and British as well as Kandyan kings had therefore focused on the Kalpitiya fort.
This historic Fort, located by the sea, became a naval base during the civil war. A naval base is in operation on the premises today, and tourists can visit the fort with the prior permission of the Navy.
Initially, Kalpitiya came under colonial rule during the Portuguese period. At that time they had established a small monastery and settlement there. The Portuguese were more interested in propagating their religion.
In 1658, the Dutch drove the Portuguese out of the country, and took control of all the coastal provinces. After that, the construction of a fort commenced in Kalpitiya.
They also built a church next to the Fort. It took 10 years to build the fort. It is believed that the Kalpitiya Fort was completed by 1667. It was then used as a military barracks and also used to control trade around Puttalam.
Although it is said that King Rajasingha II of Kandy gave permission to the Dutch to build the Fort, however, there is another belief that the king gave permission to build only a church.
It is said that the Dutch built the Fort in the form of a church so that there would not be any suspicions.
From the outside, the fort looks like a church, and the cross and tower symbols seen in Dutch churches have been raised on the wall. Legend reveals that the Dutch made sure to build the Fort secretly, and deployed only a group of soldiers who were mercenaries, and did not bring any Sinhalese for the construction.
Kandyan King
A port belonging to the King of Kandy was located in Puttalam, and because the Dutch engaged in coastal trade from Kalpitiya through this fort, a quarrel arose between the Kandyan King and the Dutch.
Because of this, it is said in history that various conflicts took place in this area from 1667. The Dutch are said to have obstructed the trade of the Sinhalese at the Puttalam Port.
By the end of the 1700s, the Dutch power was disappearing from the Indian Ocean. In 1795, the British troops who came from Nagapattam were stationed near the Kalpitiya beach. After that, as per the instructions of the Dutch Governor, this fort was handed over to the British forces without a fight.
Kalpitiya was captured by the British in 1795. It is said that English ships came from the Coromandel Coast and conquered Kalpitiya easily. By that time, the Dutch forces had gone to Colombo. A year later, all the coastal provinces of Ceylon came under the control of the British.
The front entrance of this limestone-made fort is arch shaped. It is said that the brick used for the door had been imported from the Netherlands. The VOC logo of the East India Trading Company is installed above the entrance.
When one enters through that door, there is a central courtyard. A row of service houses has been built on one side of it.
The average length of one side of the Fort is 350 feet, and outer walls 20 feet in height. There are 30 cannons there, 22 of which are facing the land. Outside the Fort, a Dutch church can be seen adjacent to it. There are several gravestones and a small bell mounted on an arch in the graveyard near the church.
Destroyed
In some of the buildings of the Fort, only the walls are visible at present. The roof was destroyed a long time ago. The ancient limestone walls were gradually being levelled to the ground.
Some of the walls have not been preserved and are gradually destroyed due to the sea breeze.
The roots of the small plants growing on the walls are damaging the strength of the walls and weakening them. Some of the tourists visiting the fort walk on the walls out of ignorance which is very damaging to this monument.
Due to the modern buildings being constructed outside the Dutch Fort, this ancient landscape has suffered a lot of damage.
