A compact six-pointed Dutch star fort of 1765, with a small museum inside its bastioned walls near the Nilwala River.

Overview

The Star Fort is one of Matara's most distinctive landmarks, a small but perfectly formed six-pointed fortification built by the Dutch on the eastern bank of the Nilwala River. Its gateway is carved with the emblem of the Dutch East India Company and the date of construction, and inside are former soldiers' quarters, ammunition stores and prison cells, some now housing a modest museum on the town's colonial history. Its geometric star shape allowed defenders to lay down crossfire from every bastion.

History

The fort was built in 1765, after a local rebellion in 1761 had overrun the main Matara Fort and exposed its vulnerability to land attack. Named Redoute Van Eck after the Dutch governor of the time, the small star fort was designed to guard the river crossing and the approaches to the town. It survives largely intact as a rare example of a compact Dutch star fortification in Sri Lanka.