The gateway and ramparts of a 17th-century Dutch fort near the lagoon mouth, with a fine inscribed archway dated 1678.

Overview

The ruins of Negombo's old fort stand near the lagoon mouth close to the seafront, the most striking survivor being its handsome stone gateway inscribed with the date 1678. Once a square bastioned fort guarding the cinnamon port, only fragments of the ramparts remain, alongside a colonial-era clock tower. The site sits beside a green and the old Dutch canal, an easy stop combined with the nearby fish market and lagoon.

History

The Portuguese first fortified Negombo to protect their cinnamon trade, but the Dutch captured the town and rebuilt the fort in the mid-17th century, adding the surviving 1678 gateway. Under later British rule parts of the fort were used as a prison. Much of the structure was dismantled over time, leaving the gateway and sections of wall as the main remnants today.